Danganronpa: Anything OOO
by mtnetwarrior
Summary: Hajime Hinata is attending Hope's Peak Academy in the new Reserve Course. This technically makes him a ordinary student, but as the world will soon see, Hajime is anything but ordinary.
1. Chapter 1: Housekeeping

**My newest story is ready. An idea I've had brewing for some time now. Thematically, I hope to place this story in the same universe as Kamen Rider Chrome's story "Love Hina Double Trouble", even though the OOO that shows up there is someone different. However, I may simply have this as a brand new universe. Either way, it's an idea I've had for a while and will now put to digital paper. Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa or Kamen Rider.**

Chapter 1: Academy, Housekeeping, and a Hero

Hajime Hinata breathed deep as he looked at the towering academy. Although he was simply a Reserve Course Student, he was still being allowed to attend the prestigious Hope's Peak Academy. This academy was meant to be tailored to elite students, those who possessed an "Ultimate" talent. But as it turned out, government funding could only go so far. So to gain additional funding, the school board set up a Reserve Course for normal high school students. Then again, "normal" was subjective, as Hajime knew very well. As he checked out the brochure and map for the academy, he absentmindedly flipped a red coin with an eagle symbol on it through the fingers of his right hand.

"Hi there," came a semi-cheerful male voice. Hajime turned to see a boy his own age with pure white hair that seemed all-over the place. He wouldn't look out of place in a manga, but Hajime knew the world they lived in was just as strange. "Hello there," Hajime replied to the boy, "Are you a student here as well?" The boy nodded. "I'm Nagito Komaeda. I'm here as the Ultimate Lucky Student. What about you? What's your Ultimate title?" Hajime shrugged. "I don't have one, really. I just came here as a Reserve Course Student." Nagito seemed to slump. "I see... So you're talentless... Oh well, I guess I'd better move on then."

Hajime simply smirked as Nagito left for the main building. He opened his right hand, revealing the red coin face-up. _'As you and Kogami taught me when I decided to enroll here, not being Ultimate doesn't mean being talentless. Right, Ankh?'_ Later that day, he sat down at a fountain on the school grounds. Spread out on the fountain's edge were the same red coin, plus two more coins of the same color, and twelve more. Three colored gray, three blue, three green, and three yellow. "Wow," came a cheerful female voice, "Those look decorative." Hajime turned to see a beautiful young girl his own age with light pink hair.

The girl bent down to look at each coin. "Let's see if I can guess what they are... We have eagle, peacock, condor... Stag beetle, mantis, grasshopper... Lion, tiger, cheetah... Rhinoceros, gorilla, elephant... Killer whale, eel, and octopus. Well, how did I do?" Hajime smiled. "That was very impressive. You're very good at guessing." The girl smiled, and offered her hand. "I'm Chiaki Nanami. My title here is Ultimate Gamer. What's your name?" Hajime accepted Chiaki's handshake. "Hajime Hinata. I'm just here as a Reserve Course student." Chiaki looked sad. "I'm wondering if that whole Reserve Course is such a good idea. I mean, what if the so-called 'talentless' are bullied by the regular students here?"

Hajime smiled as he waved his finger. "If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that talent means nothing. Desire... That is the true driving force behind society." In one quick motion, he scooped up all fifteen coins and revealed them in a perfect stack. "Talent... Desire... Hope... They are all interconnected, but can also be mutually exclusive. And of course, they are not strictly good or evil. Talent can help one get ahead in life... But it can also let one do bad things easily. Desire can let one achieve great things... Or bring about great disaster. Hope let's us move forward... Or can lead us blind to darkness." He placed the coins inside his nearby suitcase, save for the eagle coin.

"For me, I believe there is a certain perfection in imperfection. After all, once you become perfect, there's no way for you to grow. You lose all sense of desire... Of ambition. I enrolled in the Reserve Course for this reason, and because I truly admire this school for what it is trying to do. If done right, it can easily make the world grow." Chiaki smiled and blushed. "Are you sure you're not an Ultimate something or other? You seem to be a good philosopher if nothing else." Hajime shrugged. "Well, maybe. But I'm really just taking what I know from experience. Besides, no philosophy is without its flaws."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a secret location, a mysterious figure smiled as they fingered three more coins similar to the ones Hajime had. They were black in color, and depicted a scorpion, crab, and shrimp. The figure grinned as they used their computer to look up the alumni of Hope's Peak Academy. "This one should do," the figure said, seeing a picture of a young woman, recently graduated, but returning as a teacher. The woman's name was Chisa Yukizome. The figure printed out a picture of Chisa and held the scorpion coin up to it. This caused a coin slot to somehow appear in the picture. The figure grinned as they threw the black coin into the slot.

* * *

Back at the academy, Chisa was dragging her entire class with her, save for two students. With her were Nagito, Ultimate Yakuza Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, Ultimate Musician Ibuki Mioda, Ultimate Mechanic Kazuichi Soda, Ultimate Breeder Gundham Tanaka, Ultimate Animator Ryota Mitarai, Ultimate Nurse Mikan Tsumiki, Ultimate Traditional Dancer Hiyoko Saionji, Ultimate Gymnast Akane Owari, Ultimate Team Manager Nekomaru Nidai, Ultimate Cook Teruteru Hanamura, Ultimate Princess Sonia Nevermind, Ultimate Photographer Mahiru Koizumi, and Ultimate Swordswoman Peko Pekoyama.

"There you are, Chiaki," Chisa said as she approached said student and Hajime. Upon seeing the young man, Chisa asked, "Aren't you from the Reserve Course?" Hajime nodded. "I have a break between classes right now, due to my part-time job with the Kogami Foundation. Plus..." He opened a large box near the fountain, which held a rather large cake. "Kosei Kogami wanted to celebrate my birth as a new student." Teruteru walked over and inspected the cake, giving a whistle of approval. "I don't know who this Kogami is, but this cake looks like an expert piece of confectionary."

Hajime smiled, then noticed something. "Ma'am, are these all your students?" Chisa looked at the others. "Well, now that I've found Chiaki I am missing one final student. Our class is supposed to have sixteen students total." She got out the e-handbook that all students and faculty have. Hajime looked and noticed one student file was blank, save for the title. "Ultimate... Imposter?" "We don't who they are," Chisa explained, "Just that they've been enrolled in this class." Hajime then noticed Ryota trying to escape, and raised an eyebrow. Chisa must have also noticed, because she soon had Ryota tied up and still.

"Excuse me, Ma'am," Hajime started, but Chisa interrupted. "Please, don't call me Ma'am. It makes me sound old, and I just recently graduated. My name is Chisa Yukizome, formerly holding the title of Ultimate Housekeeper." Hajime shrugged. "Anyway, there's something off about that student that tried to run. Could I see his file?" Chisa nodded and brought up Ryota's file. Hajime tapped on the picture. "Ryota seems to have packed on the pounds. When was this picture taken?" Chisa blinked. "But this picture was supposed to be taken at the entrance ceremony!"

The man now tied up sighed. "Can someone remove this wig for me?," he asked. Curious, Hiyoko removed said wig, revealing shoulder length black hair instead of the shorter, light-brown hair he had earlier. "The Ultimate Imposter I'm guessing?," Hiyoko said with a smirk. Chisa was flabbergasted. "B-B-But... Where's Ryota?" "Back in his dorm I'd imagine," the Imposter explained, "He wanted to finish some sort of animation he believed could bring great hope to anyone who watched. I agreed to impersonate him for a while as he worked on it."

"But why is that necessary?," Chiaki asked, "Ultimate Students don't have to take normal classes so that we can have time to continue working on our talents." Chisa became irate. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't spend at least some time together in homeroom. Everyone, we're heading for the dorms." However, Chisa didn't get far before something within her started pulsing. She instantly grabbed both her shoulders as her body started convulsing. Hajime narrowed his eyes as Chisa screamed, her body suddenly becoming covered in countless large coins.

Chisa's body dropped as the coins solidified into some sort of humanoid creature. It was feminine looking, wearing a black housekeepers outfit, with solid black hair and a human-like mask that was covered by a sinister version of a domino mask. Academy security must have noticed it, because several guards showed up, including one big guy who rushed over to Chisa's fallen form. "Chisa!," the man said, "Come on, wake up!" The strange humanoid laughed at the scene as it shrugged off several gunshots like they were nothing. Disturbingly, it seemed to have Chisa's voice.

The man got up and assumed a boxing stance, ready to fight the creature. Hajime shook his head. "He's no match for that thing." "Are you kidding!?," Nagito said, excited, "Do you know who that is!? That's Juzo Sakakura, who once held the title of Ultimate Boxer! There's no human on the planet who's a match for him!" Hajime simply opened his suitcase, taking out a curious looking belt buckle, as well as two more coins. Juzo was able to hold his own against the strange being, but it finally managed to stop him when it grabbed his throat. **"Poor little man. A mere human such as you can't possibly hope to win against me."**

Juzo got thrown against the fountain, where he saw Hajime stand up and face the creature. "Don't bother," Juzo said with effort, "If I can't beat it, how can a talentless student like you stop it?" "That's the thing you're forgetting," Hajime said as he approached the monster, "I do have some talent, just not enough to become an Ultimate. Of course, that's only because this school already has an Ultimate Superhero." He placed the belt buckle on his waist, causing it to somehow manifest an entire belt. He took the eagle medal and grasshopper medal and placed them in the outer two coin slots. He then took the tiger medal and placed it in the center slot, simultaneously tilting the buckle to the left. He then grabbed a circular device that had also manifested. Smirking, he called out, "Henshin!" He swiped the device across the coins, and a voice called out, _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - Anything Goes)

Several colorful coins surrounded Hajime, before three, the same coins he had just inserted into the buckle, joined into a single circle and flew into Hajime, transforming him into a costumed being. His head was red with an eagle motif, his torso was yellow with a tiger motif, and his legs were green with a grasshopper motif. "Housekeeper's Despair! I am Kamen Rider OOO, the man who will become the God of Desires!" The creature OOO identified as the Housekeeper's Despair rushed at, wielding a corrupted version of a broom. Using the Taka power, OOO saw each blow coming and blocked with the Tora power's claws, counterattacking with the Batta power's enhanced leg strength.

Finally, one good swipe of the Tora claws broke the broom in two, causing the Housekeeper's Despair to stumble back. Growling, she broke out a corrupted mop and swung it around, causing blackened water to splash everywhere. Several students who had arrived and saw the fight quickly got out the way as OOO leaped all across the courtyard to help them escape. "I'd better start using something else," he thought, and took out the mantis coin. Removing the tiger coin, he then placed the mantis coin in its place and used the circular scanner. _**"Taka! Kamakiri! Batta!"**_ There was no additional song this time, but OOO's torso turned green and took on a mantis motif.

Using the Kamakiri power's elbow blades, used to great effect with OOO taking a Muay Thai stance, OOO struck with efficiency, hitting the limbs of the Housekeeper's Despair. Finally, it looked like he had the monster on the ropes, and swapped out for the tiger coin again. _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ OOO then swiped the scanner a second time. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ OOO's feet transformed to be more grasshopper-like. As he crouched, OOO called out, "Tatoba Kick!" He leaped high into the air, three ethereal colored rings appearing between him and the monster. With a mighty cry, OOO came down on the Housekeeper's Despair with a flying kick, destroying it as it turned into more coins.

* * *

The event was noticed by several individuals. The security footage was noticed by Jin Kirigiri, the academy headmaster. _'Interesting. He's with the Reserve Course, yet he has such power to him. We should make use of that in case any more incidents like this crop up.'_ At the Kogami Foundation, Kosei had tapped into the security feed and was showing it to five individuals. "Wonderful! Hajime has now unleashed his power, and shown his peers where true strength is!" He looked at the five individuals. "You must be proud of your master..." In the mysterious figure's location, the picture of Chisa grew too bright for them to look at and spat out the scorpion coin, showing it to be slightly cracked, making the figure growl in frustration.

* * *

At the courtyard, the gathered students were stunned as Hajime deactivated his transformation. As he placed the buckle and the coins back in his suitcase, Juzo stood up. "Just who the hell are you? How does a guy who can fight like you wind up in the Reserve Course?" Hajime shrugged. "Not like I had a choice. You have to be invited into the regular course here at the academy, and since coming here was a dream of mine, this was really my only option." They both then noticed Chisa stirring. Juzo quickly ran over to her and helped her up. "What's going on?," she asked, "I felt funny for a second there."

"Trust me," Juzo said, smiling, "You'd have a tough time believing it. I'm just glad you're okay, Kyosuke would have killed me if anything happened to you on my watch." He then saw Jin approach Hajime with an entourage of bodyguards. After taking with him for a while, Jin then approached Juzo. "Juzo, Hajime will be joining the security team from now on. With someone like him acting as a mediator between Ultimate and Reserve, hopefully we can avoid any... Prejudice towards our normal students." He smirked as Juzo visibly winced at those words.

* * *

Years later, it was clear the destruction of the Housekeeper's Despair had a big impact on The Tragedy. Already things seemed different as Ryota somehow took Hajime's place inside the Neo World Program, but now Chisa realized something. Despite being exposed to the Despair Video and "Monokuma's Gloomy Sunday", Chisa felt no desire to give into despair or kill herself. As a result, she was able to survive with the other original survivors. While some of the original deaths still occurred, which really saddened her since it meant she couldn't prevent Kyosuke from killing former Hope's Peak Academy headmaster Kazuo Tengan, she was able to save former Hope's Peak Academy talent scout Kohichi Kizakura from dying by binding his left hand shut until the game was over.

This also meant several thousand innocents, including children, that would have otherwise been killed by a brainwashed Chisa were still alive. After the 77th class, along with Hajime, prevented Ryota from brainwashing the world with a message of absolute hope, Kyosuke and Chisa left for parts unknown to start a new life together. But it would not be the only change to come. For the man known as Hajime Hinata, the hero known as OOO, was on path to become the God of Desires. And no amount of despair would stand in his way.

To be continued...

 **Yes, it's gonna be THAT kind of story. And more changes to the future will occur. The full backstory for how Hajime became OOO to begin with will be told slowly over the course of several chapters. And keep an eye out, because we'll be seeing more and more Danganronpa characters. Read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2: Farming

**You'll notice unlike OOO proper, the Greeed haven't been introduced. Oh, they will be in this chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa or Kamen Rider.**

Chapter 2: Greeed, Farming, and Security

In his dorm, Hajime unlatched a part of his suitcase, revealing a computer link to the Kogami Foundation. The link activated, revealing Kogami's face. 'I saw your fight against that Despair creature,' Kogami explained, 'So someone found those cursed Black Medals after all.' Hajime nodded. "I'm afraid so. And they've learned how the Medals work." He leaned forward. "Is there any way to access a list of previous Hope's Peak Academy Alumni? Given that Chisa Yukizome was targeted first, I suspect whoever found those Medals may be trying to attack the academy. But they may not just limit themselves to current students."

Kogami grinned in realization. 'That's right. Chisa had graduated the previous year, hadn't she? I'll contact the academy board and get a full list of names. We'll likely only have to go back a few years, ten, maybe eleven at most. Oh, and I'll be sending your friends a special cake to celebrate your birth as new Special Security for the academy.' Kogami then turned serious. 'Hajime, a god must always protect that which he presides over. Until the creation of these despair-ridden medals, I have always celebrated the birth of anything that comes into this world, because for good or ill, they always have ambition and desire as their basis. Despair does have its place, but it must serve society, rather than hold it back.'

* * *

Outside the security center for Hope's Peak Academy, Juzo watched as several workers from the Kogami Foundation brought in odd-looking vending machines. "What's with all these?," he asked aloud, "We already have soda machines." "Those are for me," Hajime said as he came over, "And they don't dispense drinks." He took out a coin similar to the ones the Housekeeper's Despair exploded into and placed it in the slot. He then hit the button for the red can. Instantly several of the cans got dumped out and fell to the ground. "So much for drinks," Juzo said. Hajime shook his head as he picked on up. "You don't listen too well, do you?"

He popped the tab on the can, but instead of spurting out liquid, it turned into a mechanical eagle. The others cans all did the same. "These are Taka Candroids," Hajime explained, "Okay little guys, you have the information from Kogami. Go check on each person of interest." The Candroids took flight and spread out. As Juzo lead Hajime inside the office, he asked, "Just who are you keeping tabs on?" "Former Hope's Peak Academy alumni," Hajime replied, "It's possible they may be targeted by whoever turned Chisa into that Despair monster."

Juzo looked stunned as the Candroids disappeared from view. "I have so many questions..." "Well, I have time before my next class," Hajime said, "Let's head inside and I'll fill you in." As they approached the office, a suited officer ran up to them. "Mr. Sakakura, do you know if we have any ice cream pops?" Juzo seemed confused, but Hajime sighed. "Do you happen to have someone in there?" The officer nodded. "Yeah, he said he was an acquaintance of yours. I said he could wait inside for you and offered him some food. All he asked for was some ice cream pops."

Hajime moved past the officer into the security office, Juzo behind him. Sure enough, there was man in there, with rather dirty blonde hair. "Hey Ankh," Hajime said, "Glad you could finally arrive." The man known as Ankh smiled. "I was hoping to get at least one ice cream before you showed up. Oh well. And this must be Juzo. I was impressed with how you handled yourself against the Despair creature, futile though it was. Guess you're an Ultimate for a reason." He stood up. "Hope you don't mind if I shed my human visage for this explanation." He seemed to shift under the appearance of large coins, turning into a humanoid being reminiscent of birds.

Juzo blinked. "Oh man, not another one." "No," Hajime said, "Not another one. Ankh is nothing like that monster that came from Chisa. He is a Greeed, an artificial being crafted from raw desire, made manifest by coin-like objects called Medals." He opened his suitcase and brought out several of the colored coins and a few colorless coins. "The colored coins are what are known as Core Medals. There are eighteen different types, each with four copies. Three sets of three each for a Greeed to allow them life, for a total of nine, and one final copy for me. To give the Greeed form, they use countless Cell Medals, the colorless coins."

"We gain these Cell Medals through human desires," Ankh said, "Me and my kin each have our own way of obtaining them. It was Hajime who taught us how to use the creatures we spawn for the purpose of collecting Cell Medals, known as Yummies, to fulfill said desires rather than simply taking advantage of them." Juzo picked up one of the Medals Hajime had brought out, the Taka Medal. "From what I've observed of your fight with that monster earlier, each of these Medals provides a different power." "That's right," Hajime said as he took the Medal, "Six for the head, six for the arms, and six for the legs. This Taka Medal provides me with enhanced senses, for example."

"Speaking of which," Ankh said as he retrieved a package from nearby, "Kogami sent you something." Hajime opened the package to reveal a large single-bladed broadsword, with what looked like a slot for Medals. Hajime chuckled. "So he sent me Medajalibur." "Medajalibur?," Juzo asked, an eyebrow raised, "How does this work?" Just then, one of the Taka Candroids arrived and tapped on the window to get the trio's attention. "You're gonna find out the practical way," Hajime said, "Looks like they've found something." He ran outside and slotted a Cell Medal into one of the vending machines. Hitting the button, he caused it to change into a motorcycle. "Let's go, Ridevendor!"

* * *

The mysterious figure smiled at the new monster they created, using the scorpion-based Sasori Medal and a picture of former Ultimate Farmer Daisaku Bandai. _'The reason my last creation was defeated was likely because of the close proximity to this OOO character. But now we're further out. By the time they realize something's wrong, this new Despair will have lasted long enough for Daisaku to be vulnerable to my schemes.'_ The figure then heard a screech and noticed one of the Taka Candroids flying away. "Why do I suddenly get a bad feeling?"

Sure enough, the soon spotted three figures coming in on Ridevendors. Hajime, Juzo, and Ankh. They stopped just as they saw the new Despair. Juzo pointed out the fallen figure. "That's Daisaku Bandai, a Hope's Peak Academy graduate from the 66th class, also known as the Ultimate Farmer." "Ultimate Farmer?," Ankh said, amused, "Explains the rustic look of this Despair." Hajime simply got out his Driver, catching the interest of the unseen figure. He slotted the Taka Medal and Batta Medal first, then the Tora Medal. After tilting the Driver, Hajime got out the O Scanner. "Henshin!" _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - Regret nothing ~Tighten Up~)

Now transformed, OOO pointed to the growling monster. "Farmer's Despair! I am Kamen Rider OOO, the man who will become the God of Desires!" As he unveiled his Tora Claws, Juzo couldn't help but chuckle. "A little pretentious, isn't he?" "More like ambitious," Ankh admitted, "The truth is, Hajime is fully capable of making good on his claim. The Housekeeper's Despair from earlier? It's very existence was eating through Chisa's desires. If it had been allowed to live through it's natural existence, it would have drained her of all desire, leaving her vulnerable to despair. But Hajime cut its life short, giving her back her desires in full. That is his power, the power to help people realize their desires and strive for them."

Meanwhile, OOO was slashing through the Farmer's Despair, cutting through its various weapons. Growling, it said, **"Try something more heavy-duty on for size!"** It then called forth a rather large tractor and boarded it. OOO quickly leaped over the oncoming vehicle. "That's dangerous. Better try something stronger." He swapped out for the Kamakiri Medal. _**"Taka! Kamakiri! Batta!"**_ OOO used the Kamakiri Swords to cut through the tractor which seemed to just be an extension of the Farmer's Despair's body. Juzo again noted the stance OOO took. "Has Hajime had any martial arts training?" "Sure has," Ankh replied, "He trained with members of the Ridevendor unit, learning fighting styles that would compliment each Arms Medal."

Finally, OOO was able to cut the Farmer's Despair from the tractor, destroying the vehicle. "Now that, you've been brought down to size," he said, swapping back to the Tora Medal, "Let's cut you down even further." _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ OOO then got out Medajalibur, as well as three Cell Medals. He slotted them in one-by-one, then pulled down on the lever above the slot, causing them to fall into a see-through chamber near the blade. OOO then took his O Scanner and swiped it across the sword. _**"Triple Scanning Charge!"**_ "OOO Bash!" OOO rushed at the Farmer's Despair, delivering a slash that seemed to cut through the very fabric of reality.

Instantly everything OOO had slashed through was repaired, save for the Farmer's Despair, who exploded into Cell Medals. Hajime canceled his transformation and he and Juzo helped Daisaku to his feet. "Thank you," Daisaku said, "I have no idea what happened. One minute I was tending to my fields, the next thing I know I'm feeling woozy and head home for some rest. Then I just felt myself black out. It was like roaming through a pumpkin patch and only seeing watermelons." Ankh chuckled. "What does that even mean?" Higher up, the mysterious figure regarded the scene. "Looks like I'll need that special project after all." They looked at the Sasori Medal, now cracked even further.

* * *

Back in the time of The Tragedy, the destruction of the Farmer's Despair had a big impact. Daisaku, rather than try to stop violence out of desperation due to witnessing it violating his NG Code, played mediator throughout the entire Final Killing Game. Unfortunately, this only prevented the death of Kazuo. Despite his original death via poison being erased, this didn't cause an additional death that would have otherwise been prevented due to Chisa secretly passing the poison's formula to another participant, who happened to be a pharmacist. She completed an antidote to it before her death, but only made enough to prevent one other member, the same one from the unaltered time, to survive their poisoning.

Daisaku was able to survive the entire game, and once the world finally returned to a peaceful state, he went back to restore his farm to its former glory. "I can't help but think it's all thanks to that boy Hajime. He really knows how to raise a bumper crop of apples." Whatever Daisaku meant by his words, he was truly grateful. He looked back on the final battle, where Hajime for the first time was forced to use OOO on humans rather than monsters or robots. _'A God of Desires indeed. And I get the feeling he's still fighting, in this time and the time before.'_

To be continued...

 **Yeah, I'll indicated later just how Chisa got hold of that formula, and who the unnamed characters are. They haven't been met in the past yet, so there's no need to mention them, but fans of Danganronpa will know who they are. Read and review.**


	3. Chapter 3: Boxing

**We're onto the next chapter, and here we're going to be introducing a brand new Kamen Rider. And for you OOO fans out there, it's not Birth, not yet at least. Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa or Kamen Rider.**

Chapter 3: Cores, Boxing, and a Villain

Ryota sighed as Chisa dragged him by the ear to his class's homeroom. He was truly surprised that someone through the Imposter's disguise, as normally his weight didn't make people suspect him. "Miss Yukizome," he pleaded, "Shouldn't you be resting after that ordeal?" "That was days ago," she said, "I've had more than enough time to rest since then. Now come on, it's just an hour of homeroom time, and then you can go back to your animation project. And you really should be looking after your health. I'd recommend regular visits with Mikan, she really could use the medical practice." Ryota sighed.

* * *

Inside his training hall, Juzo was using his heavy bag more than usual. Recent events were really shaking his world view, and it was starting to bother him. "Yen for your thoughts?," came Kyosuke's voice. Juzo turned to see his old friend standing there, smirking. "Hajime's making some positive waves. I was skeptical at first, given his status as Reserve," the Ultimate Student Council President noted, "But he's a good kid at heart." "I'm not denying that," Juzo said, "It's just annoying. A Reserve Course student is more capable of destroying these monsters than an Ultimate is."

"If it is more power you seek," came another voice, this one older, "Perhaps I can render assistance." In walked a rather well-dressed businessman who looked to be middle-aged. "Greetings. I am Kosei Kogami. Hajime is under my temporary employ until his eventual ascension." He walked over to the duo. "Recently, one of the first-year students, Kazuichi Soda I believe, was given a commission to develope a machine capable of drawing power from what the client called 'special coins'. Shortly after Hajime revealed himself as OOO, Kazuichi contacted me asking if I had a blueprint for the OOO Driver. I offered it to him, but only because it was for Kazuichi's desires, not his clients."

He turned solemn. "I fear whoever his client is may have dark intentions." Kyosuke looked at him. "Then why come to us?" "A god walking on Earth can only be in one place at a time," Kogami explained, "And Hajime has expressed a desire for assistance, should these Despairs become more powerful." He then pointed to the two friends. "So! You two shall become the next Kamen Riders!" Kyosuke and Juzo looked at each other. "Wait, you want us to be these 'Kamen Riders'?," Juzo asked. Kogami nodded. "You say you are concerned that a Reserve Course student is showing more promise than you, even you though are the Ultimate. But I say, that is only logical."

"Just what do you mean?," Kyosuke asked, narrowing his eyes. Kogami turned around. "You have taken the easy road towards success. You have reached the peak, but have no desire to move forward. Thus when a chance for guaranteed success was offered to you, you took it with no hesitation. Hajime, despiting going to the same academy, does not have that guarantee. He must work for his desires." He turned back around. "And work he does! And so should you! If you have hit the ceiling, then break it and move further!" He pointed to them. "And with my help, you can do just that."

* * *

Meanwhile, a creature called a Yummy walked towards a certain apartment not far from Hope's Peak Academy. It was similar to a horse in appearance, but humanoid. The creature entered the apartment and was greeted by Ankh and the other four Greeed. Uva, who had an insect motif, Kazari, who had a feline motif, Gamel, who had a giant mammal motif, and Mezool, who had a marine life motif. The horse creature dispersed into numerous Cell Medals, which the Greeed began to absorb into their being. "A rich bounty," Kazari noted, "Where did you find the desire for this one, Gamel?"

Gamel finished swallowing several Medals, then said, "One of the Reserve Students is still part of his old school's American Football team. He was worried his skills would slip. I simply helped him and his team to connect better and improve." "Such a productive means of gathering Medals," Mezool said as she finished, "Cultivate the humans' desires, rather than take advantage of them. It provides us with far more nourishment. And the more benign the desire, the more Medals we seem to obtain." "And a good thing too," Ankh said, "Once Hajime is finished creating our new brother, that'll be one more mouth to feed."

* * *

Kogami brought Juzo and Kyosuke to his company's lab. "Kyosuke will need some time to familiarize himself with the system we have planned for him," Kogami said, "But you, Juzo, I believe we can give your system a field test right now." He showed Juzo a Driver buckle, which resembled a championship belt for boxing with six ornate Medals inside. "Hajime has already shown he has the potential to become a god," Kogami said, "Back when he and Ankh first met, Ankh only wished to use Hajime to gather Medals. But Hajime quickly turned that around, and before long it was Ankh serving him. The other Greeed followed suit soon after."

He handed Juzo the driver. "Hajime is using his power as OOO to craft a brand new Greeed, as a testament to his ascension. Until then, someone must be ready in case a new Despair attacks. Juzo, the time has come to take your talents to the next level! Will you except this!?" Juzo didn't even need to think about it. He grabbed the Driver and placed it on his waist, forming the belt instantly. Kogami smiled. "Then Happy Birthday, Kamen Rider Core! Spin the Driver to begin your new life!" Placing his hand on the upper part of the Driver, Juzo called out, "Henshin!" The Driver spun around until it landed on the red Medal. _**"Style: Avian!"**_

* * *

Deep in the Kogami Foundation labs, Hajime had transformed into OOO and was doing something with several purple Core Medals. "Dr. Maki may have been completely insane," OOO noted, "But he was a sheer genius. Thanks to his notes, I can now make a new Greeed. But unlike the one he intended to make, I will teach this one how to utilize desire." Just then, a Taka Candroid appeared. "Damn. I'd like to help, but converting this next Medal has to be done all at once." "No need to worry," one of the lab techs said, "Mr. Kogami said he had a new ally taking care of it."

* * *

Meanwhile, the mysterious figure had taken the newly created Driver from Kazuichi and used it in conjunction with three of the Black Medals, becoming a humanoid monster akin to a scorpion, crab, and shrimp. Along side it was the next Despair, crafted from the Ultimate Wrestler, The Great Gozu. _"With this new power, we shall spread despair across this country, and then the entire world!"_ That's when the two monsters heard the trademark sound of a Ridevendor coming in. However, the figure on the bike was not OOO, but another armored warrior dressed in red.

He was wearing a hooded boxing cloak with the hood resembling an eagle, and on his fists were gloves that had wings spreading to either side. His helmet had markings resembling a bird of prey's piercing eyes. The black monster eyed the newcomers. _"And just who are you?"_ The armored rider adjusted his gloves and said, "You can call me... Kamen Rider Core." He raised his fist to the Despair. "Wrestler's Despair. I will be the one to send you straight to Hell!" He then moved his fist to the black monster. "And by what name do you go by?"

The monster chuckled. _"I suppose it's only fair to have a name for people to refer to me by. Call me... Sasanibi. When I first took this form it was the name that was called out."_ Core looked at Sasanibi's belt. "A corrupted version of OOO's Driver. So, you would be Kazuichi Soda's mysterious client. And those black Medals... This must be how you're making these Despairs." Sasanibi scoffed. _"Well aren't you clever. Perhaps too clever. Wrestler's Despair, destroy him!"_ The Wrestler's Despair charged at Core, who ducked under the initial charged and delivered several fierce blows the creature's side.

The Wrestler's Despair dodged another fierce blow, only to suffer an unseen backlash. When Core spotted the monster's confusion, he laughed. "You like the Avian Style's Vacuum Wave? There's more where that came from, too. Let me show you." Core spun his Driver until it landed on the green Medal. _**"Style: Insectoid!"**_ Core's cloak flew off his body as his armor changed to green and his gloves gained a set of beetle-like mandibles. The cloak came down, now sporting an appearance of a grasshopper, with his helmet gaining insect-like eyes.

Core then turned his attention to Sasanibi, striking it with a flurry of punches that made the air buzz like an insect's wings. The final blow seemed to come from multiple angles at once, leaving Sasanibi no chance to try to flee. Instead, they put up their guard, just enough to avoid too much damage as it was blown back. Getting up, Sasanibi said, _"There's no winning right now. Come, Wrestler's Despair, we're leaving."_ Before Core could react, the black monster sprayed out a fine mist that covered the area. By the time it faded, Core found himself alone on the battlefield. As he canceled his transformation, Juzo muttered, "Better track them quickly." He took out one of the Taka Candroid and sent it off.

* * *

Juzo's newfound identity as a Kamen Rider had a profound impact on his role during The Tragedy. In particular, the fact that he could cover his hands with gloves meant he could exploit a loophole in his NG Code. His code was that he could not hit anyone with his bare hands, but with his hands gloved that was no problem. This came in handy when it turned one of the participants of the Final Killing Game was really a robot. Even though striking it would still trigger his code should his hands be uncovered, his newfound powers rendered that moot.

With his Kamen Rider powers, Juzo was able to avoid having to cut off his hand to shut down the power and stop the game. After helping Hajime to stop Ryota from brainwashing the world, Juzo traveled with his friends to other parts of the world. "Hey, Juzo," Chisa asked, "Are you sure you're okay traveling with us?" Juzo smiled. "A god's acolyte is best served spreading his message, rather than staying at his right-hand. For that reason, I intend to walk this Earth and remind people of the importance of desire." He raised his fist to the sky as he did this.

To be continued...

 **What? Just because I didn't have the monster of the week destroyed doesn't mean I can't show how the future is slowly changing. But yeah, Wrestler's Despair is still out there. Two-parters, am I right? Read and review.**


	4. Chapter 4: Wrestling

**I'm back, and I totally haven't been distracted by Idle Games what are you talking about? I toyed with Kamen Rider Core's finisher's for the longest time. Since he has six styles, and there are five Kamen Rider finisher types, I wanted to have punches that could resemble those finishers. But then I thought that wouldn't be easy to see, so I decided to simply have him resort to combat pragmatism, only using his boxing talent to wear down an enemy. Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa or Kamen Rider.**

Chapter 4: Gods, Wrestling, and the Shattered Medal

Hajime listened to Juzo's story about the new Despair and the appearance of the monster calling itself Sasanibi. "It was almost like a corrupted version of OOO," Juzo explained, "Still with the animal motifs, but far more prominent. It's head had a scorpion tail sticking out of the back, it's arms had visible crab claws, and attached to its waist was what looked like a shrimp tail." Hajime closed his eyes. "Sasori. Kani. Ebi. Hence, Sasanibi. These are the animals of the Black Core Medals. They were formed when my boundless desire removed the despair from the most of the Purple Core Medals."

Kazari, who was sitting nearby in his human form, looked at Juzo. "What of the Ultimate that was used to spawn this Despair? It was referred to as Wrestler's Despair." Juzo nodded. "The man it came from is known only as the Great Gozu, a masked wrestler who was part of the 69th Class at Hope's Peak Academy. Like the Luchadores, he never removes his mask for any reason. He's known as a wrestling prodigy, able to make any fight look like a perfectly balanced match-up." Kazari raised an eyebrow, making Juzo chuckled. "Unlike boxing, modern wrestling matches are staged. The fights themselves are real, save for the outcome, but the banter in-between is all carefully rehearsed."

"And the idea behind masked wrestling is much like a superhero battle," Hajime continued, "For a while it seems like the villain will get the upper-hand, but then the hero pulls out a come-from-behind victory. Oftentimes such spectacles can be set up well in advance over a series of matches." Kazari smiled. "I see. Humans making sport of combat is as old as civilization, but this is the first time I've heard of the victor literally being decided before the fight even begins. Anyway, we still have some time to track down the Despair." He brought out a tablet.

"Modern technology is truly fascinating. The way humans have evolved over the years, in every conceivable way. Take a look at this." All over the forum Kazari showed were images of the black monster Sasanibi and Wrestler's Despair. "And they keep coming in, with no sign that the Despair is close to fading. We can use this, in conjunction with the Candroids, to track them down." Hajime got up from his chair. "Juzo, I'd like to see more of what Core can do, so I'll leave disposal of the Despair to you. I'll handle Sasanibi." Juzo smiled and slammed his hands together. "Thought you'd never ask. I'll send that monster straight to Hell."

* * *

Meanwhile, the person who was really Sasanibi was taking some time out of their transformed state. "Seems I can only maintain the change for so long," they said. Then they looked at the Despair they had crafted. "It would be so easy to just leave him here, but to do so would expose me. Besides, unless it is active, it cannot burn through the desires it has absorbed. And even with my considerable paycheck taking him far away from this area is out of the question. I have no choice but to keep the incident confined to this prefecture, which will eventually draw in OOO and this new Kamen Rider known as Core."

The figure sighed. "Perhaps I shouldn't have tried to fast track my plans, but there's something about these Medals that makes me want to use them." They looked over the eleven Medals they had, the twelfth being used to power Wrestler's Despair. "Just thinking about the delightful despair I can spread with these Medals... I get tingly just thinking about it. But I must learn more about my new form. Perhaps another romp through the city will let me understand my new powers." They put on their D Driver and swiped the D Scanner across the three Medals inside the Driver. _**"Sasori! Kani! Ebi! Sa-San-Ibi!"**_ The figure laughed manically as they turned into Sasanibi again.

* * *

Meanwhile, several students of Hope's Peak Academy's Reserve Course were talking during lunch. "So I heard one of our own got hired as part of the Security Staff after that weird monster attacked." "Yeah, because he's a costumed superhero. I think he said his name was OOO." "It was like something out of Tokusatsu!" "And have you noticed how many other nice monsters have been showing up." "It's a rumor going around the Reserve Course. They have these five animal-like beings using coins or something to conjure monsters that grant students like us our greatest desires."

* * *

The talk was also going around with the 77th class. The revelation about Hajime being a superhero was really turning Nagito's world upside-down, to the point he hadn't spoken in days due to trying to understand the situation. The others, however, were really chatting each other up. _'I suppose it's no surprise they're so excited,'_ Nagito thought, _'Even I'm excited from seeing how Hajime operates. But it doesn't make sense to me. Hajime is supposed to be one of the talentless since he's not an Ultimate. Yet here he is with a major talent that let's him fight against monsters. I'm going to have to talk with him about this.'_

* * *

Meanwhile in the nearby city, Sasanibi and Wrestler's Despair resumed their attack. _"Before long, my beautiful Despair will have fully dissolved, leaving its original host vulnerable to my plans."_ It used its claws to smash through a nearby building, sending people scattering. As the black monster laughed, it heard a very familiar engine sound. Sure enough, in came Hajime and Juzo on a pair of Ridevendors. Before Sasanibi could move to attack them, it found itself swarmed by numerous Tako Candroids, basically Candroids modeled after octopods.

Hajime smiled as he got off his Ridevendor. "Just as there are multiple Medals," he explained, "There are multiple types of Candroids. Juzo, are you sure you can pull this off? It's a little unconventional for a boxer." "Maybe," Juzo said with a grin, "But this isn't really a boxing match. A little pragmatism won't hurt my reputation." He and Hajime got out their Drivers. Beneath its helmet, Sasanibi's eyes widened. "Then you're..." Juzo smirked as he put on the Core Driver and spun it. "Henshin!" _**"Style: Avian!"**_ Hajime followed suit with his OOO Driver. "Henshin!" _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

OOO immediately activated his Tora Claws and started slashing at Sasanibi. Wrestler's Despair moved to help, but was blocked by Core. "Didn't I tell you? I'll be the one to send you to Hell." He immediately started striking at the monster with several vicious blows, including the same Vacuum Wave he used earlier. The Despair managed to maneuver out of the way. Meanwhile, the black monster started blocking OOO's attacks, prompting him to try switching out Medals. _**"Taka! Kamakiri! Batta!"**_ Now armed with the Kamakiri Swords, OOO had an easier time breaking through Sasanibi's defenses.

A few more blows caught Sasanibi off-guard, until it started using the stinger on its head. OOO was able to get out of the way, but could no longer get close enough to attack. _"How do you like that, OOO?,"_ Sasanibi asked with a laugh, _"If you are the God of Desire, I shall be God of Despair!"_ Meanwhile, Core was having a similarly tough time catching Wrestler's Despair. "Tricky little dodger. Better try a faster fighting style." Core spun his Driver so that it landed on the yellow Medal. _**"Style: Feline!"**_ The cloak changed to yellow, as did Core's armor, and took on a tiger motif. Core's helmet now had eyes like a cat's, and his gloves had short claws on the knuckles.

He also seemed to move faster in this mode, making it easier to land blows against his opponent. Seeing this, OOO got a burst of inspiration. "A bit more speed should shake things up." He got out his second yellow Medals, this one having a cheetah symbol on it. Swapping out his Medals, he swiped the O Scanner. _**"Taka! Tora! Cheetah!"**_ OOO's legs now had a cheetah motif to them, and he demonstrated their power by rushing at Sasanibi faster than it could aim with its stinger. A few quick slashes with OOO's Tora Claws sent that black monster sailing.

Meanwhile, Core now had Wrestler's Despair on the ropes. "Now for the final bell." _**"Style: Avian!"**_ Back in his red cloak, Core held one of his gloves up to the Driver. The energy created caused Core to be lifted up into the air. "Funny thing about kickboxing, there's still boxing in it. Eagle Dive!" Core launched a flying kick, the image of a screeching eagle superimposed on him, as if diving at its prey. Core quickly landed the blow on Wrestler's Despair, causing it to shatter into Cell Medals, plus the black Core Medal in it's center completely broke. OOO looked at the new bounty. "From the looks of things, we still had some time." He then looked around and noticed Sasanibi was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside a local hospital, the man known only as the Great Gozu finally opened his eyes. He noted he was not wearing his mask, but a quick check in a nearby mirror showed the staff respected his identity by bandaging his head. He sat up, noticing how light he felt, as if all his troubles in life had suddenly disappeared. He turned his head as the nearby door opened, revealing his fiance Fujiko. "Gozu... You're finally awake!" Mami embraced her fiance, and Gozu returned the hug. "Yes... It seems I have worried you with my mysterious malady. I promise never to do something like that again."

* * *

Gozu's newfound hope left him immune to the brainwashing scheme during the Final Killing Game that occurred during The Tragedy. His attempts to mediate tensions revealed a loophole in Daisaku's NG Code. Daisaku's code would be triggered if he witnessed violence between participants, but if one participant was trying to restrain another, that wouldn't count and Daisaku's code would remain inactive. Additionally, Gozu's own code, which stated he couldn't be pinned by a 3-count, proved impossible since no one was willing to try anyway.

Gozu was fortunate in that his fiance survived throughout the entire ordeal, even though it took years. After so long apart, they were reunited, and finally married. Years later, it was said only Mami knew what was beneath the Great Gozu's mask. Gozu eventually retired from wrestling when it was clear he was past his prime, and he and Mami settled down on the outskirts of the city. _'I eventually learned the secret behind my malady. These Kamen Riders, the ones who quite literally destroyed my despair. It's as if the very darkness of the past is being cleared away.'_

To be continued...

 **For the record, I don't anything about the personal lives of these characters, but I thought that last part would be fun to include to remind people that even Ultimates don't live in a vacuum. Read and review.**


	5. Chapter 5: Presidency

**I'll be introducing a new Kamen Rider to the growing group for this chapter. It is a pre-existing one from canon, but reimagined. As anyone who follows Tokusatsu knows, it's not uncommon these days for Kamen Rider and Super Sentai to crossover. Well, let's take that to it's logical conclusion. Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa, Kamen Rider, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 5: A Game of Tag, Presidency, and a Journey Through the Decade

Kazari looked on in amusement. His latest Yummy had attached to a girl named Natsumi, who happened to be the sister of one of the Ultimates in the 77th class, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. The poor girl was under the impression she had to be an Ultimate herself in order to spend more time with her beloved brother, even going so far as to unofficially call herself the Ultimate Little Sister. The Leopard Yummy that had just now finished emerging from her as it fed her desire disavowed her of that notion, causing her to seek out her brother's company when they weren't in school and getting his attention by standing out in her own class.

"This school is rife with human desire," came Uva's as he came up behind the feline Greeed, "We keep this up and we may just get these poor souls recognized for their hidden potential." "All while feeding our own desires," Kazari noted. He looked to the main building. "And the fools up there can't do a thing about it without looking like the villains." Nearby, Nagito was watching the pair of Greeed. _'Such odd creatures to exist, and yet they seem benign. Still, they way they work goes against what I believe. I'll have to investigate them, and see if I can't better understand their mindset.'_

* * *

Meanwhile, OOO and Core were trying to track down Sasanibi on their Ridevendors. "There must a hundred places it can hide in this city," Core noted, "And the Candroids still need time to fly back and forth from where they spot it. What do you think Sasanibi wants anyway? Making monsters from Hope's Peak Academy students... Seems almost random." OOO thought about their last confrontation. "It referred to itself as a God of Despair to counter me as God of Desire. If there is a person under that monstrous facade, despair is their ultimate goal."

He looked at the shattered remains of the Sasori Medal from the Wrestler's Despair. "Human desire can spawn in many ways, but it's best taken in moderation. I remember one man I saved early in my tenure as OOO. A rather gluttonous individual. But after I saved him from a Yummy, he realized the dangers of overeating. However, he hasn't given up on his desire for good food. He just takes it in moderation now." A Taka Candroid flew in carrying a Batta Candroid, snapping OOO out of his thoughts. He took the Candroid and pulled the tab.

"Go ahead Kogami," he said into the grasshopper-shaped two-way. 'Kyosuke has finished his training,' Kogami said from the other end, 'I'm sending him to your location as we speak. I personally think our company's variation on the system he's using will prove most exciting. In the meantime, our security network has spotted Sasanibi. Now, I'm normally one to celebrate the birth of something, regardless of its nature, so long as it's in the name of desire. But that which is born from despair must be reduced to a manageable degree. And this creature spreads despair wherever it pleases. You must put a stop to it.'

* * *

The figure who was Sasanibi looked on frustration. They had to get back to their lair in order to set up the next Despair monster, but they were being hounded by Candroids the entire way. Of course, right now they weren't transformed, so there should be no way to track them. And then the figure had a thought. _'Could they possibly be able to track me by those Medals? Even if that's the case, there's no way I can simply throw them out. I'm the only one who can bring out their full potential. Well, if they're looking for me, I'll just lure them into a position where I can confront them.'_ The figure got out their D Driver.

 _ **"Sasori! Kani! Ebi! Sa-San-Ibi!"**_ _"Now, to wait and see how long it takes for my foes to arrive."_ It didn't have to wait long, as bot Kamen Riders came riding in not five minutes later. "Trying to lure us in hoping to take us out quick," OOO noted, "Quaint, but you should know we have the upper hand." _"I rather think not. I have a much better grasp of both your power... And mine."_ And with, the black monster lashed out with the scorpion tail on its head. The two Kamen Riders dodged out of the way. Core was quick to shift his Driver. _**"Style: Feline!"**_ Rushing forward, Core managed to nail Sasanibi with a few good hits.

"Keep the hits coming," Core said, "We'll give back twice what we take." Sasanibi responded by lashing out with its crab claws, Core dodging and ducking with his enhanced speed. OOO rushed in, swapping out Medals as he did. _**"Taka! Tora! Cheetah!"**_ OOO raced in and caught the black monster with a clothesline, sending the creature sailing. It got up and immediately sprayed a fine mist about the area, hoping to conceal its movements. "Great," Core muttered, "We really need to consider infrared or something for these helmets."

Before OOO could reply, Sasanibi raced around them in a backwards manner, striking them with its claws as it did. Before long it had the two Riders on the ground. Laughing, Sasanibi said, _"With you two Riders out of my hair, finishing my plans will be so easy."_ OOO chuckled as he got up to his knees. "Whoever said there were only two of us?" As he spoke, the sound of another Ridevendor reached their ears. Sasanibi looked to see who was getting off it and became confused. _"Kyosuke Munakata, the former Ultimate Student Council President? What are you doing here?"_

Kyosuke smirked as he got out another Driver, making the black monster gasp. "I'm just a Kamen Rider who's passing through," Kyosuke said, almost mockingly. He placed the Driver against his waist, conjuring the belt and causing two panels to separate from the center. Attached to the belt was a card case, from which Kyosuke pulled a card out. "Don't you forget that. Henshin!" He slipped the card into the Driver's special slot and pushed the panels together. _**"Kamen Ride! Decade!"**_

Sasanibi looked at the new form Kyosuke took. There seemed to be a prevalent theme of crossroads and cards, but Sasanibi snickered at the pink coloring. "Before you say anything," Decade retorted, "Real men are okay with wearing pink. Let's not harp on this and just get to the real work." Sasanibi lashed out with its claws, which Decade dodged almost nonchalantly. He then grabbed the card case, called the Ride Booker, and took two more cards out of it before slotting it into his Driver. _**"Attack Ride! Illusion!" "Attack Ride! Slash!"**_ The cards created four copies of Decade, each having their Ride Bookers transform into swords.

The illusions joined the real Decade in striking Sasanibi, who was shocked that what it thought were just copies turned out to be real enough to damage them. "Something a little extra for the next round," Decade as he brought out another card, this one depicting a red helmet. Sasanibi groaned. _"How many Kamen Riders will you throw at me?"_ Decade chuckled. "Who said anything about another Kamen Rider?" He slotted the card and activated the Driver. _**"Sentai Ride! Gokaiger!"**_ Three red Xs and a red V shot out from the driver, merging with Decade to form a black jumpsuit with red vest, the helmet in the style of a tricorn hat.

"Neat," OOO said, "I see Kogami took some inspiration from television." Decade, now shifted to Gokai Red form, brandished a Gokai Sabre and slashed Sasanibi several times. The monster backed off a few feet, only to get shot by Decade's Gokai Blaster. He then got out another card and slotted it. _**"Attack Ride! Final Wave!"**_ Two Ranger keys manifested and were placed inside the slots on the Gokai weapons. Decade pushed the two weapons against each other to click them into place, causing bright lights to begin flashing where the Gokai symbol was on each weapon. _**"Final Wave!"**_

He aimed at Sasanibi and fired, then slashed the air to create an energy shockwave that pushed the energy shot even faster. The combined attack blasted Sasanibi on its back. As it got up, it saw Decade slot in one final card. _**"Final Attack Ride! G-G-G-Gokaiger!"**_ Four more Gokaigers, in blue, yellow, green, and pink, manifested behind Decade as a bright red light flew from his Driver. The light transformed into a galleon-shaped cannon, which fell into Decade's hands. The Gokaiger constructs placed four Ranger Keys into the side slots, then placed their hands against each others' backs, blue and green on Decade's back and yellow and pink on blue and green's.

Decade then slipped on final key into the slot in front of him and turned it. _**"Red Charge!"**_ Taking aim at Sasanibi, who found itself unable to move while being targeted, Decade called out, "Gokai Galleon Buster!" He pulled the trigger and fired, launching a bow-shaped energy blast at the black monster. _**"Rising Strike!"**_ The attack ripped through Sasanibi as it was launched back, cracking one of the Medals and canceling its transformation. Quickly the human underneath scrambled to get away before their identity could be verified.

As the constructs faded, the three Kamen Riders canceled their transformations. "Nice work," Hajime said, "Not what I expected, and clearly not what Sasanibi expected." Juzo gave Kyosuke a good-natured pat on the arm. "And you got whoever they were to expose themselves." "Too bad we didn't get a good look at them," Kyosuke noted. Hajime shrugged. "Maybe not, but we did get a big clue. Whoever they were, they were most likely a woman." Said woman was just around the corner, scoffing at the three Kamen Riders. _'I nearly paid for my hubris. And I highly doubt there's just the three.'_ She looked at the next photo, and prepared the Medal.

* * *

In the time of The Tragedy, Kyosuke was just leaving the Future Foundation. After all they struggled through, finally it seemed like the world was coming back together. He had managed to survive the Final Killing Game along with his best friend Juzo, and his lover Chisa. He and Chisa even found a place to get married, with Juzo as the witness. "Think you'll ever need your Driver again?," Chisa asked as the trio drove to the next town. "We may have stopped the Tragedy from continuing endlessly," Kyosuke noted, "But there's still cleanup to do." He smiled as he put his arm around Chisa's shoulder. "Which means there's plenty of areas that could use some help... From a couple of Kamen Riders just passing through."

To be continued...

 **Yeah, I revealed Sasanibi's gender because I got tired of using "them" and "it" to refer to her. As for Decade using Super Sentai powers, that I'll reveal in time. Also, you'll notice we didn't have our Monster of the Week yet. I wanted to focus purely on tracking down Sasanibi for this chapter, but we'll have a proper Despair monster next chapter. Read and review.**


	6. Chapter 6: Pharmaceuticals

**I finally have all the chapters plotted out, at least as far as who gets the spotlight is concerned. Now to really get our heroes embroiled in the Danganronpa side of things. Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa, Kamen Rider, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 6: Promotion, Pharmaceuticals, and the Strongest Combo

Hajime couldn't believe his luck. His recent actions alongside Juzo and Kyosuke had caught the attention of Jin, who brought his skills to the attention of the Steering Committee that ran Hope's Peak Academy. They were reluctant, but agreed that the option for exceptional students in the Reserve Course to enter the Main Course was not put in place under the assumption that no one would be able to qualify. Of course, in order for it to stick, Hajime would have to pass the upcoming Practical Exam, a once a year test to show how far the Ultimates had come in developing their talents. Other than that, Ultimate students weren't required to take the normal school curriculum.

Hajime was led down to his new class by Chisa, who was still quite grateful for Hajime's impromptu rescue earlier in the year. "I heard Kyosuke has joined your growing team," she said, "I thought he was too busy with the overseas expansion project for Hope's Peak." "Kogami offered to have some of his people oversee that," Hajime said, "This business with Sasanibi is more important. You should know that better than anyone." Chisa nodded. "I still barely remember what happened. All I can remember was someone or something whispering in my ears about all my darkest fears."

Hajime put a hand to his chin. _'I wonder if it's the same for the others afflicted.'_ "Just to be on the safe side," he said aloud, "I've had the Greeed expand their efforts to the Ultimates. The fewer victims we have, the better." "That's good," Chisa said, "With the Practical Exam just around the corner, and the Reserve Course students striving for new heights, it was starting to make the Ultimate students wonder if their talents were even needed. Hopefully this will go a long way towards restoring their faith in their talent." They soon reached the door. "Now I should warn you," Chisa said, "The classroom may not be in the best of shape. Nekomaru and Akane were in a fight of sorts, although Nekomaru called it training."

Hajime shrugged. "So the classroom got a little disheveled." "It's more than that," Chisa said, sighing, "The fight was so rowdy they wound up taking out the entire outer wall. It didn't help that Teruteru fed Akane corn soup filled with steroids to help her match Nekomaru's strength." Hajime chuckled. "Don't worry, I always keep my O Driver and a few Core Medals on hand in case of emergency. Gotta keep on my toes if I plan on being the God of Desires." Chisa smiled and opened the door, surprised to learn how dark it was, the only light coming from a large screen TV which the class was huddled around.

Hajime noticed the outer wall was boarded up, and it looked like the classroom had been cleaned up recently. Chiaki, Akane, Nekomaru, and Gundham were sitting in front of the TV playing a multi-player fighting game. "What's going on here?," Chisa asked. "Fighting game tournament!," Ibuki replied excitedly, "I got winner!" Hiyoko shook her head. "I think she knows what a video game is." She then noticed Hajime. "Hey isn't this that Kamen Rider guy?" Chisa nodded. "The school board recognized his contributions as a Kamen Rider and decided to promote him from the Reserve Course to the Main Course. It won't be official until the Practical Exam, however."

"That's great though," Chiaki said, she and Akane having just won by default due to Nekomaru making a stupid mistake that took out both him and Gundham, "It means your talents are finally getting recognized." Hajime smiled. "Sweet monitor, right?," Kazuichi said, putting his hand on Hajime's shoulder, "Just a little something I threw together. Chiaki's the one who supplied the console, controllers, and games." Chisa looked surprised. "She did all that?" Chiaki nodded. "You told me that games can be more fun if we all play together, so I brought some games that rely on multi-player."

As Nagito, Fuyuhiko, Teruteru, and Kazuichi got set up with a party video game, Nagito asked Hajime, "Can I ask you something important? What is your position on the meaning of talent?" Hajime looked inquisitive. "It's just," Nagito explained, "I've always seen talent as something you're born with. Like how birds are born with the talent of flight." "I doubt the birds would agree it's a talent," Hajime noted, "Almost any species of bird can fly. We only perceive flying as a talent since it's not something humans can do naturally. For my position, it's something that varies from person to person. Some people are born with an innate talent, others work hard for it. And even those who are born gifted need to practice to avoid losing that talent."

Nagito smiled. "Sounds like you've put a lot of thought into it. More than I have, at any rate. Guess I'm just naive." He sat down with the other three and got started on the game. Soon enough Kazuichi was really getting into the lead. "Man Nagito, for a guy who's all luck you sure have the Poverty God raining on your parade." Nagito chuckled weakly. "Guess my luck has to run out sometime." "Don't go giving up yet," Hajime said, "You want to win this right?" Nagito smiled at him before making his role. When he saw the result, he muttered, "This is awkward." The ten dice he was given all came up sixes, allowing him to bypass Kazuichi. "Wow, maybe Hajime really is the God of Desires."

Next, Chisa, Chiaki, Hiyoko, and Ibuki all got settled into a racing game. Ibuki seemed confident going in, but quickly got passed by Chisa and Chiaki. Hiyoko then nailed Ibuki with an invincibility power-up before she could use her item. "I win," Chiaki said, smiling. "And I got second," Chisa said cheerfully. Ibuki tried to get ahead again, only to have Hiyoko back-up into her with the power-up still active. "Hiyoko, you are pure evil!," Ibuki said, clearly upset. Next, Ryota, Hajime, Fuyuhiko, and Kazuichi played a beat-em-up game. Chiaki looked impressed as Hajime was able to gently guide the other three to maximize coverage of the screen. Within a half-hour they had the entire game cleared.

"I gotta say," Ryota said, "I was really scared for most of this. How do you do it, Hajime? You don't seem scared of anything. Is that because you're a Kamen Rider?" "Just the opposite," Hajime explained, "Being a Kamen Rider doesn't make me brave. Rather, finding my inner courage allows me to become a Kamen Rider." Chiaki now sat with Sonia, Mahiru, and Mikan to play a bomber game. "It's kinda funny how it's called Bomber Guy but only girls are playing," Mahiru noted. Meanwhile Mikan was frantically running her character around the map dropping bombs in a frenzy.

Hajime quickly started massaging Mikan's shoulders. "Take it easy. This is about having fun. It's a game after all." Mikan nodded, practically melting under Hajime's touch. "Dude, you have got to tell me your secret," Kazuichi said with a grin. Just then, a delicious smell wafted through the classroom. In came Teruteru and Hiyoko, pulling in a large cooking pot. "Hope y'all are hungry," Teruteru said, "For our lunch I whipped a special Versailles-style meat and potato stew." Hiyoko just shrugged. "It's not as fancy as he's making it out to be. I should know, I helped him make it."

Chisa was a little confused as to why Teruteru would go to all the trouble, until Chiaki spoke up. "We kinda missed lunch during all the cleaning, and I didn't want everyone getting hungry during our gaming session. So I asked Teruteru to make us something." "I see," Chisa noted, clearly impressed. Hajime noted she seemed to be considering something. Just then, a deep rumbling could be heard. "What's this?," Gundham said, "Has the Demon King risen from the Ninth Circle to invade the surface world?" "Or maybe it's another of those crazy Despair monsters," Mikan said. "Nah," Nekomaru said, holding up a drooling Akane, "It's just Akane's stomach growling." The rest of the class facefaulted.

After everyone got a plate, and Chisa had them give thanks for the food, they started to dig in, Akane getting several platefuls. "This is fantastic," the Imposter noted, "Much better than the fast food I normally eat." "It's incredible," Nagito agreed, "I feel like I finally found a glimmer of hope after so long." Teruteru then got out a soup bottle. "I have some corn soup if anyone is interested. Free from steroids, of course. I don't go doping up all my meals." He then double-checked his case. "That's weird. There was supposed to be another bottle in here."

Hiyoko giggled as she brought an empty bottle from her kimono. "Looking for this?" Teruteru gasped as Akane fainted to the floor. "I feel really strange all of a sudden..." Nekomaru hurried to pick her up, asking, "Are you okay?" Once she was upright, a deep red blush could be seen on Akane's face. "No, Coach Nekomaru... You mustn't touch me like that..." "Sorry!," Nekomaru said as he removed one of his hands from Akane's shoulders. But the same blush could be seen on his face. "How strange... My heart is fluttering just looking at you..." "Coach...," Akane muttered, "Your grip is so strong... Yet gentle..."

As the two gazed lovingly into each others' eyes, Ibuki wobbled across the room. "Oh man, I feel like I'm on fire... But not a barbecue... More like... Sexy fire!" She quickly collapsed to her knees. Hajime soon noticed the entire classroom, including himself, was getting the same odd sensation, though for him it felt a bit lessened, just enough to take in the scene. Mahiru had started taking sexy selfies. Nagito had collapsed against the wall, muttering how good his newfound hope felt. Even Chisa was doubled over from the sensation. Only Hiyoko seemed unaffected.

"I was wondering why you weren't eating," Hajime muttered, "Just what did you do?" "I poured this entire bottle of soup into the stew," Hiyoko said with a smug expression. "You glorious madwoman!," Teruteru shouted, "That soup was full of aphrodisiac!" Hajime blinked. "Teruteru... Why did you have a soup full of aphrodisiac?" Teruteru chuckled weakly. "You know the expression 'put a little love into your cooking'? I like to do that literally as well as metaphorically. However, it's only supposed to be a drop per dish. Too much of that potent stuff and... Well..."

He and Hajime looked around, the effects rather obvious. Gundham was clutching his arm trying to stop it from doing something, which Hajime could guess. Kazuichi was approaching Sonia hoping to help her situation, only to be held back by Fuyuhiko. Peko moved to try to help Fuyuhiko, only to get glomped by Mikan, asking Peko if she could borrow the tip of her sword. And all the while Hiyoko was laughing. "Man, you guys are hilarious. Glad I didn't eat the stew." Just then Teruteru came up behind her, a rather unsettling aura surrounding him. Worried for Hiyoko, Hajime and Chiaki picked themselves up despite their own conditions.

"If you don't like meat...," Teruteru said menacingly, "How about some veggies!" Hiyoko whirled around and shrieked at the sight of the Ultimate Cook, looking far more pent-up then he should. "Come on! I'll give a taste of my daikon radish!" As Hiyoko collapsed to the floor and scuttled to the wall, Hajime sighed. _'Reap what you sow, I suppose, but I'm not letting her be violated like that.'_ As Teruteru advanced on the tiny girl, Chiaki stepped between them while Hajime made an impressive wall jump. Chiaki knocked Teruteru into the air, calling out, "Heaven Slaying Dragon Fist!" As Teruteru went flying, Hajime came in with a flying kick, instinctively calling out, "Tatoba Kick!"

As the kick sent Teruteru crashing to the ground, he blurted out, "I regret nothing..." Hajime landed, and said, "A man should never try to force himself upon a woman, no matter what the situation." Hiyoko winced as she realized what Hajime was getting at. In retrospect, the whole situation was her fault. Chiaki walked up to Hajime, still a little flushed from the aphrodisiac. "Hajime... That was so... Cool..." She then wound up fainting as Hajime caught her, getting him more than a few knowing looks from the other students.

* * *

In the aftermath of the event, it became clear to Chisa that Chiaki had a real knack for bringing her classmates together and named her the official class representative. Of course, while Chiaki was good at bringing out the best in everyone, Hajime proved talented in grounding their eccentricities. A few stern words from him and Hiyoko apologized for the whole beef stew fiasco. Chisa also noticed Hajime and Chiaki seemed to be growing closer. Her recent talk with Kyosuke revealed Hajime was aware of what they were doing, and was willing to do his part to make Hope's Peak Academy the shining beacon he always saw it as.

Before long it was time for the Practical Exam. As Hajime predicted, the Steering Committee wanted a demonstration of Hajime's powers as OOO. Having already taken this into account, he got the help of several other students, including one with the title Ultimate Architect, to construct a grand stage in an open area. The plan was to create an arena where he could fight one of the Greeed at his full potential without endangering anyone. _'Though I should really keep an eye out,'_ he thought to himself, _'Sasanibi's been too quiet as of late. And attacking the Practical Exam would be a logical move for her, assuming my theory about her goals are accurate.'_

As he was thinking, he saw a figure approaching. It was Kazuo Tengan, former Headmaster of the academy and current advisor to Jin Kirigiri. "I'm surprised you're going along with this," Kazuo said, "I thought I explained how normalcy is not a bad thing." "But normalcy is stagnant," Hajime explained, "And besides, a Kamen Rider is destined to live a life that isn't normal." Kazuo hung his head sadly. "I really wish you didn't have to resort to violence. Violence only brings despair." Hajime looked at the old man. "Tell me something. If a loved one were to die, how would you react?" Kazuo looked confused. "Why, I'd mourn them of course. I'd grieve. What other reaction could there be?"

"But grief and mourning are aspects of despair," Hajime noted, "Hope and despair cannot exist without each other. Kogami always taught me, that we should celebrate beginnings, and mourn endings. As for violence, sadly the monsters I fight only know despair and violence. And destroying them, which requires violence, prevents them from forcing despair upon their hosts." Kazuo looked bewildered at Hajime's words. "I know about the Kamakura Project," Hajime explained, "But I don't plan on partaking in it. And if my Greeed have anything to say about it, no one else will either." He walked off to oversee the arena's construction, leaving Kazuo with a lot to think about.

* * *

The time for the practical exams had come, and many political dignitaries, scientific experts, and media personnel were in attendance. What each Ultimate Student had to do to pass the exam varied based on their talent. Some merely had to provide documentation of their accomplishments. Others had to showcase their latest advancements in whatever field they excelled at. Soon enough, it came time for Hajime to have his exam. The Steering Committee watched, two of them excited, while the other two were apprehensive. "This is a little unprecedented," one of them said. "Not to mention ever since Mr. Hinata showcased his powers as OOO, we've been losing credibility," the second one replied.

"But not at the expense of the school," the third one noted. "Are you not concerned for the fate of the Kamakura Project?," the first one asked, "We've been having a tough time finding a willing volunteer. All of the Reserve Course Students we've approached don't have the necessary inferiority complex to try it." The fourth one simply smiled. "If Hajime proves his worth as OOO, we'll have something better than the Kamakura Project. Even if it turns out we can't control him. Just think how much recognition our academy would get with this. Our government funding could triple. Between that and the money from the Reserve Course, we'd have more resources to fall back on."

Hajime stepped into the arena, then prepared his Medals. Placing them in the O Driver, he slid his O Scanner across them. _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ He looked to the five Greeed waiting on the other end of the arena. However, before one of them could step up, there was a cry of, "Seiko! Seiko!" OOO looked in the direction of the scream. With his Taka Medal, he could see one of the Ultimate students, Seiko Kimura the Ultimate Pharmacist, become covered in Medals before fainting, leaving behind yet another Despair monster. Said monster then leapt into the arena. _'A little impromptu,'_ OOO thought to himself, _'But I can make this work.'_

He looked around, and sure enough Sasanibi was standing on the upper edge of the stands. _"Well now OOO. Let's see how easily you can handle this new Despair."_ She laughed rather haughtily. _"Feel the power of the God of Despair, Sasanibi."_ OOO simply stared the monster in front of him. "Very well. Pharmacist's Despair! I am Kamen Rider OOO, the man who will become the God of Desires!" In the crowd, Juzo and Kyosuke were watching. Juzo went for his Driver, but Kyosuke stopped him. "The Steering Committee will count this as Hajime's Practical Exam," he explained, "Us interfering would give them an excuse to fail him."

Hajime didn't seem to need help regardless. The Pharmacist's Despair threw chemical bombs mostly, it's fighting skills mostly being basic and readable. As it went down for the fourth time, Sasanibi called out, _"Quit messing around! Use your special gift! That will end this easily!"_ The Despair laughed manically. **"Of course, I'd nearly forgotten."** It brought out another vial and smashed it into the ground. The resulting smoke caused the Despair to multiply. **"My own little concoction, almost like a reverse contraceptive. There's no way you can take on this many."** OOO just laughed. "We'll see about that." He got out the Kuwagata and Kamakiri Medals.

The reaction to what was about to happen seemed mixed. Sasanibi was simply confused. _'So he's simply matching colors. There's no way it could give him any more than whatever power each Medal normally gives him, right?'_ Chiaki had a much different thought in mind. _'If he were to match three colors... Could this give him a little bonus?'_ The Steering Committee watched with vested interest, as did Jin and Kohichi Kizakura, the academy's Talent Scout. Juzo and Kyosuke just smiled. OOO placed the Medals in the appropriate slots and activated the O Scanner. _**"Kuwagata! Kamakiri! Batta! Ga~ta-Gata-Gata-Kiri, Ba! Gatakiriba!"**_

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - Gotta Keep It Real)

The newly created Gatakiriba Combo, coating OOO in green and giving him the motif of a beetle, mantis, and grasshopper, roared in triumph to psyche himself up. The Pharmacist's Despair scoffed. **"Power yourself up all you want, we still outnumber you."** OOO chuckled, then to both the Despair's and Sasanibi's shock, began to self-multiply. "Insects are pretty good at the numbers game too." The group of OOO copies attacked the Despair copies, some showing off the Kuwagata Medal's electrical attack. One by one the Despair monsters were destroyed and turned into Medals.

Finally, the last Pharmacist's Despair was on it's last legs. OOO got out his O Scanner, copied by all his clones. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ The duplicates all rose into the air with OOO as three green rings appeared in a diagonal line. "Gatakiriba Kick!" The clones all converged on the monster, destroying it as they merged back into one. Once the Despair was destroyed, Seiko started to wake up again, much to the relief of her two friends. The Steering Committee stood up and looked at each other. "Well, I'm convinced," the first one noted, "So, what title shall we give him? We already have an Ultimate Superhero."

* * *

The next day Hajime was given the good news. Impromptu as it was, he had been officially promoted. He chuckled when the title he was given was Ultimate Kamen Rider. Seiko and her two friends were thankful as well. He and his classmates were already enjoying the sweets offered by Ruruka Ando, the Ultimate Confectioner. "So, it looks like you'll be sticking with us," Nagito noted, "I'm actually rather happy about that." Chisa smiled. "It's good that those boors in the Steering Committee are finally acting like they care about this academy." Hajime smiled. "Well, they still have a long way to go."

* * *

Seiko's newfound hope helped her avoid the terrible consequences of watching the suicide video, but in a way she wished she hadn't, since it meant having to watch her two best friends die. Still she was able to persevere, though her special Antagonist was only able to save one person. This was due to not enough medical staff being available. Still, that one was enough. After The Tragedy finally ended, Seiko had her friends buried and continued to visit them daily after her work supplying medicine to areas heavily inflicted with man-made diseases. _'If Hajime really is the God he's trying to become, perhaps he can also somehow erase my friends deaths.'_

To be continued...

 **Long one, but I wanted to get the rest of the cast back into the action. Especially since we're getting into more changes to original canon. And we have the first real combo showcased. Read and review.**


	7. Chapter 7: Animation

**Here we introduce more Kamen Riders and get a little deeper into the story. Well, one more Kamen Rider. Also, we get a little deeper into the background of Hajime's early time as OOO. Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa, Kamen Rider, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 7: Courage, Animation, and Mythology

Inside his dorm room, Ryota was pondering recent events, and his conversation with Hajime. _'It takes courage to become a Kamen Rider... That's what Hajime said. I want to have that sort of courage. The courage to not run away from the world.'_ Ryota had been in the middle of crafting a brand new animation. It had been a skill he honed for years, ever since his desire to bring hope to the world through animation. His secret was subtle sensory tricks, which was rather similar to brainwashing but not quite. He felt his latest project could be strong enough to eliminate conflict on a grand scale.

However, he was very timid at heart, and hid away from the world until he could change it to his liking. He was aware of how cowardly it was. And then, in came Hajime. At the time, just an ordinary high school student, but with an amazing power and an indomitable will. Rather necessary when one confronts such horrific monsters. And it seemed to affect certain other people as well, because the security chief Juzo and his friend Kyosuke soon became Kamen Riders as well. And now Ryota found himself with such a desire. "I guess it would take a god to make me realize how much I need to change," he noted aloud, "Here I am trying to hide from the world, while Hajime is embracing it." He smiled, now knowing what he needed to do.

* * *

Meanwhile, the mysterious figure frowned at the picture of Seiko, now useless to her. "Well, plenty more were she came from." She looked over the pictures she had and noted something. The Medal she passed over each wasn't reacting, which could only mean those Ultimates were less susceptible to despair. Of course, she could just keep focusing on alumni that had already graduated, but that wouldn't further her goals. She wanted to topple the greatest symbol of hope ever to exist, simply to prove she could. Finally, she got a hit with the Medal. "A-ha. This one should make a truly powerful Despair." She readied the Medal."

* * *

Inside the classroom for the 77th class at Hope's Peak, Fuyuhiko was frustrated. On the one hand, Hajime's vested interest in getting everyone to have at least the minimum required education for the their preferred career paths was annoying. On the other hand, it was perfectly logical, hence his frustration. His desire to live based on his own merits meant he couldn't have his father teach the ins and outs of the family business, and strongarming was only half the job of being a Yakuza clan leader. If you didn't understand the economic side of things, you were no better than a hired goon.

"I swear you're like a slave driver," Fuyuhiko muttered. "Well, how do you think I feel," Hajime retorted, "I've always looked up to the Ultimates in this school, but then the second I become one I learn you only need to focus on your talent? I was always under the impression that Ultimates worked harder, but all I've been seeing are a bunch lazy layabouts." "That's what I've been saying all along," Chisa agreed, "Things are very different from when I attended this school." Hajime nodded. "Surely you have big dreams you want to fulfill."

"Who doesn't?," Fuyuhiko asked, "And don't call me Shirley." Hajime sat down near Fuyuhiko's desk. "Care to talk about it?" Fuyuhiko couldn't help but chuckle. "You really take this 'god of desire' crap seriously, don't you?" He sighed. "It's just, as the heir to the Kuzuryu clan, I was basically handed my title as Ultimate Yakuza, rather than earning it. I remember you saying how being a Kamen Rider doesn't give you courage, but rather it was your courage that led to you being a Kamen Rider. That's how I want to live. I want to become strong enough that I can lead my family, rather than being seen as strong because I lead my family."

He leaned back. "Really, I don't know why I was chosen for this. My sister should have been the one to get the title." "Yet you seem to be working hard to earn that title," Hajime noted, "While Natsumi doesn't seem to have any vested interest in the Yakuza, just your family. Maybe what you need isn't to change for the sake of the Kuzuryu, but to have the Kuzuryu as a whole change. If it seems like you're not a typical Yakuza, perhaps it's time to redefine what being Yakuza means." Just then, a buzzing sound could be heard. "Hey Hajime," Hiyoko said, "Your... Soda can is buzzing."

Hajime walked over and picked up the can and pulled the tab, revealing it to be a Batta Candroid. Hiyoko looked as the Candroid hopped into Hajime's palm. "I was wondering why it had a grasshopper on it's side." The Batta Candroid's eyes lit up as Kyosuke's voice came in. 'Hajime, a new Despair monster has appeared. We have a new Rider here to help, but considering where this one came from, we're going to need all hands on deck.' "I'll be right there," Hajime said, grabbing a Taka Candroid and pulling the tab. "Sorry Chisa," Hajime said, "But duty calls." Chisa nodded. "Say hi to Kyosuke for me." As Hajime raced out to his Ridevendor, Hiyoko giggled. "Your soda can is buzzing. There's a sentence I never thought I'd say."

* * *

Sasanibi looked as her new Despair, crafted from Sonosuke Izayoi, the Ultimate Blacksmith, raged across the crowded area. _'Really wish I could control these things' actions a little more. It's only going to attract-'_ She paused when she heard the telltale sound of a Taka Candroid as it flew away, then four Ridevendors approaching. Sasanibi sighed. _"Attention. Wait, isn't there one more than last time?"_ Beneath her helmet, Sasanibi's eyes widened when she recognized Ryota from his photo. Earlier she had tried one of the black Core Medals with it, and got no reaction. She got a sudden sense of forboding as to the reason. _"Jeez when I asked how many Kamen Riders you'd throw at me, I was joking."_

The four guys smirked. "Think you're ready for this Ryota?," Hajime asked. Ryota just smiled. "I wouldn't have come this far if I wasn't sure." He brought his Driver, a lot more simplistic compared to the ornate drivers used by the other three. Drivers in place, each Rider went through the motions for their transformation, Ryota simply placing his right palm in front of the Driver's face. "Henshin!" Ryota brought his arms out to his side in a downward diagonal as the energy from the Driver enveloped him. _**"Mighty Form!"**_ _**"Kamen Ride! Decade!"**_ _**"Style: Avian!"**_ _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

Ryota gave a flick of his wrist as he brought it up to shoulder height. "Allow me to introduce myself. Kamen Rider Kuuga, ready to ride again!" The Kuuga system, used years ago in during a series of brutal killings perpetrated by ancient monsters, Kogami had recently gotten his hands on it by chance and his Research Department was successful in refining it. It was less complex, technologically speaking, then the Decade, Core, or OOO systems, but relied heavily on mental fortitude. Kuuga's base form, the Mighty Form, now had its Rising state as default. When Ryota approached Kogami requesting the chance to fight alongside the other Kamen Riders, Kogami thought this system would be the best way to test the young animator.

Suddenly, the Blacksmith's Despair rushed in, bringing a giant hammer to bear against the Riders. Kuuga stepped in front of the group and placed his right near his Driver, mentally picturing the form he needed. _**"Titan Form!"**_ Instantly the outer casing of Kuuga's suit seemed to shift, taking on a purple color and looking more defensive. Sure enough, the new form proved strong enough to withstand the full force of the Despair's attack, Kuuga barely budging from the attack. He then manifested his Titan Sword. "My turn." OOO chuckled. "Core, Decade, can you guys take care of Sasanibi?" "Leave it to us," Core said, spinning his Driver as Decade got out a new card. _**"Style: Feline!"**_ _**"Sentai Ride! Dekaranger!"**_

Core moved in, dodging Sasanibi's tail strikes. Meanwhile Decade slotted another card to give him some ranged attack options. _**"Attack Ride! Hybrid Magnum!"**_ Decade got out the two D-Magnums that manifested and linked them to form the rifle-like Hybrid Magnum. The barrage of shots allowed Core to move in and deal a series of quick strikes. Meanwhile, OOO and Kuuga were using their blades to combat the Blacksmith's Despair, who was strong enough to wield two weapons at once, a giant hammer and a set of giant tongs. "At this point it's a stalemate," Kuuga realized, "Any ideas?"

OOO thought for a second. Then he came up with something. "The Despair's host is Sonosuke Izayoi, right? Sonosuke always said the hardest part about his work as a blacksmith was that the general environment left his eyes sensitive. Luckily, I have a Medal that can take advantage of that." He got out his Lion Medal and slotted it in. _**"Lion! Tora! Batta!"**_ OOO's head now sported a lion motif, and emitted an intense radiance. Sure enough, just like its host the Blacksmith's Despair was forced backward and quickly ran off. Sasanibi saw this and tried to run after it. "Don't think so!," Core called out as he held his glove to his Driver. The energy it generated permeated him as he dashed forward, an image of a lion superimposed on him.

At the same time, Decade slotted another card into his Driver. _**"Final Attack Ride! D-D-D-Dekaranger!"**_ A bone-shaped dog toy appeared in his hand which he threw into the air. At the same time, a manifestation of a robotic dog caught it, transforming into a cannon, which was caught by Decade and the Dekaranger constructs. "D-Bazooka!," Decade called out as the cannon fired. As the blast blind-sided Sasanibi, Core moved in to attack with his finisher. As he slashed across the field, he called out, "Lion Roar!" Sasanibi was blown across the courtyard, but managed to keep her transformation and escape using her mist.

As the four Riders canceled their transformations, Ryota noticed something. "That mist of hers. At first I thought it might be the power for her Ebi Medal, yet it comes out of her head rather than her legs." "It's probably her special combo power," Hajime noted, "Like Gatakiriba's ability to multiply. Scorpions, crabs, and shrimp all have the ability to hide themselves for various reasons, usually for quick escapes." He went over to his Ridevendor, which had folded up into its vendor mode, and used several Cell Medals to access a number of Taka Candroids. Once they were released, they flew out into the city. "Blacksmith's Despair is still active. We need to destroy it as quickly as possible."

* * *

Ryota's newfound courage proved a great boon during the time of The Tragedy. No longer needing to rely on his Hope Video to ward off attackers, he became very proactive in working with Future Foundation. Though he still regretted losing his friends to despair, he worked through it and eventually was able to help get them back. Though his Hope Video was stolen by Kazuo in an attempt to brainwash the world into only believing in hope, he was stopped right at the halfway mark, ending The Tragedy but still allowing people freewill. Kazuo publically acknowledged his actions but swore it was separate from Future Foundation.

This was done because of words given to him by both Ryota and Hajime, making Kazuo realize just how foolish his actions really were. Ryota soon opened his own animation studio. With an entire staff on hand, Ryota's work struck the perfect balance between his talent and what was safe for people to watch. Though no longer able to influence people just by watching, the stories he created based on his adventures as a Kamen Rider still grabbed the world's attention. He was later invited to become a teacher at Hope's Peak Academy. As he looked at the new class he was given, he was reminded of the source of his courage, his desire to face the world.

To be continued...

 **Our new Despair is on the run, but our heroes are on the case. In regards to Decade's power set, you remember how in his own series Decade had a limited number of card sets, but he could use all the powers of any Kamen Rider he got powers from? It's the same with Kyosuke's usage. For example, the Gokaigers didn't have access to Murphy K9 and the D-Bazooka despite having the Dekaranger Keys, since said robot was still with the original Dekarangers. Due to the construct nature of the Sentai Cards, however, Kyosuke has full access. Read and review.**


	8. Chapter 8: Blacksmithing

**Our heroes have found their next task, I've been doing some research on the characters, and have some future events that need planning out. Our next chapter is ready to begin. Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa, Kamen Rider, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 8: Lovey-Dovey, Blacksmithing, and the Past in the Present

Ruruka Ando was sobbing at the Sonosuke, who was her boyfriend, lying comatose in the med ward of the academy. Seiko, who went through a similar experience, couldn't help but sympathize. "It'll be okay, Ruruka," she said, rubbing her best friend's shoulder, "Hajime brought me out of it, I'm sure he can do the same for Sonosuke. Plus, I hear he's not the only Kamen Rider." Sonosuke looked at her friend, her eyes filled with tears. "But who would do this? Who would hurt my Yoi-Yoi?" Mikan, who was nearby, couldn't help but giggle at the pet name.

"I guess you two are pretty close, huh?," she asked. Sonosuke nodded, sniffling. "He's always so sweet and doting, and the way he likes to rest his head in my lap is like a cute puppy dog. Now he can't even try my sweets like he used to." "How's that a big deal?," Seiko asked, "Pretty much anyone can do that. And those are some pretty tasty treats." Ruruka pouted. "It's more than just that. Yoi-Yoi's been my official taste-tester. You think being the Ultimate Confectioner is easy? I pour hours of practice into each new treat I make. After that two people are needed to taste it to make sure it's delicious, me and one other person." She started tearing up again. "And Yoi-Yoi offered to be that person."

"Wait," Mikan asked, "Why would you need to try your own food specifically?" "As Teruteru could tell you," Ruruka explained, "Anyone who makes food professionally should not serve anything they wouldn't eat themselves. It's important to check the food your making personally. But you also need a point of reference, hence the need for at least one other person to try your food." Mikan nodding. "Well, don't worry about it either way. I'm sure Hajime will find wherever this monster is and deal with him. You know, I'd really hate it if one of those monsters came out of me."

* * *

The four Kamen Riders stood on nearby rooftop, Ryota scouring the cityscape with a set of binoculars while they waited for word from the Taka Candroids. "Hey Hajime," he said, "There's something I wanted to know. How is it you're able to tell so much about these monsters? You even pegged what the one that came out of Chisa was named, even though you didn't know she held the title of Ultimate Housekeeper." "Instinct," Hajime explained, "Some time before I made the decision to enroll in Hope's Peak Academy's Reserve Course, I bumped into someone who dropped one of the Taka Medals, which I picked up. Strange guy, he actually had a set of boxers hung up on a stick."

"Where did these Medals even come from?," Kyosuke asked, "They're clearly ancient." "They were made many centuries ago using the powers of animals," Hajime replied, "Ten Medals each were used to make the Greeed, destroying one from each to give them sentience through a sense of unfulfilled desire. This was done by the first OOO, who was Kogami's ancestor and, apparently, my previous incarnation." The other three looked at Hajime in shock. "I know," Hajime said with a chuckle, "I was as surprised as you are. This unnamed king also wanted to become a God of Desires, but the power overwhelmed him as he was betrayed by four of the Greeed. He became a seal trapping them and leaving Ankh unwhole for centuries."

"Until you found the Medals again," Ryota noted. Hajime nodded. "It was a long and arduous journey, or at least seemed like it, but I was able to help the Greeed reach their goals and in turn gained their trust. I also found out how to turn the purple Core Medals to the side of hope and desire. In the process the scientist who first discovered them, Doctor Maki, was eventually arrested for the murder of his sister. So now in this new life I'm back on the path to becoming the God of Desires, but I'll learn from the mistakes of my past. The problem last time was that I focused too much on my own desires, when I should have been helping other people with theirs. I won't make that mistake twice."

Just then a Taka Candroid flew up to the group. "Looks like he's found our wayward Despair," Kyosuke said with a grin, "Which means we're on the clock." The four of them got out their drivers. "Henshin!" Down in a nearby shopping center, Sasanibi finally caught up to her creation. _"Quite a work-out you got. That should help wear down the hope Sonosuke was carrying."_ _**"Attack Ride! Blast!"**_ _**"Pegasus Form!"**_ Sasanibi quickly turned and got out of the way just as Decade and Kuuga showed up, Kuuga now sporting a green armor and wielding a bowgun. They had fired upon the Blacksmith's Despair, knocking it to the ground. They were soon joined by OOO and Core, Core having taken on his Insectoid Style.

Sasanibi launched her Sasori Medal's scorpion tail to try and separate the Riders, but only succeeded in getting Decade and Kuuga's attention. Decade slotted a new card into his Driver. _**"Sentai Ride! Gekiranger!"**_ Decade used the martial arts mastery that came with his new form to deflect the black monster's Kani claws, while Kuuga shifted into yet another form. _**"Dragon Form!"**_ New decked out in a blue armor and wielding a long staff, Kuuga was able to get in some strong hits on Sasanibi. Back at the Despair, OOO swapped Medals in order to counter the Blacksmith's Despair arsenal. _**"Taka! Kamakiri! Batta!"**_

Leaping over the Despair as it swung its hammer horizontally, OOO slashed the monster's backside as he came down. At the same time, Core came in from the side dealing a heavy body blow to the Despair's equivalent of a ribcage. "Let's end this," OOO called out as he swapped Medals again. _**"Lion! Kamakiri! Batta!"**_ The blinding light from the Lion Medal once again struck the Blacksmith's Despair hard, and even dazzled Sasanibi to the point she was disoriented. Taking advantage, Core charged up his Insectoid Style, the image of a stag beetle superimposed on him as he held his fists forward. "Beetle Swarm!" Multiple beetle constructs were fired from his fists, impacting against the two monsters.

Kuuga charged energy through his staff, then rushed at the creatures. "Splash Dragon!" Kuuga thrust the spear-end of his staff into the Blacksmith's Despair, the force of the resulting explosion being enough to knock it right back into its creator. Decade then slotted a finisher card. _**"Final Attack Ride! G-G-G-Gekiranger!"**_ The card manifested constructs of the other Gekirangers plus a giant cannon with a jungle cat motif. The cannon charged up as Decade pulled back the handle on the back end. "GekiBazooka!," he called out as he pushed in the handle, firing a sphere of energy the blasted both monsters.

Finally, OOO got out his Medajalibur and slotted in three Cell Medals, sliding his O Scanner against it. _**"Triple Scanning Charge!"**_ "OOO Bash!" The shockwave from the slash seemed to cut through reality itself, though when it was over everything save for Sasanibi and the Blacksmith's Despair was repaired. The Despair got the brunt of the attack and exploded, scattering Cell Medals everywhere. Sasanibi, though still transformed, was blown back quite a distance. Scrambling to her feet, she cast out her mist to disappear once again.

"Damn it," Kuuga said as he started after her, but OOO held him back. "We'll have another chance, so long as she continues on her path to try and snuff out Hope's Peak Academy." Kuuga nodded, then bent down to inspect the bounty of Cell Medals. "We had more time than we thought, considering how long it took. Sonosuke must have big desires." He chuckled. "And they probably all revolve around Ruruka." As the Kamen Riders returned to their Ridevendors, they didn't notice they were being watched from afar by a male figure in a white lab coat. He got out his cell phone and dialed in a number. "We now have a fourth. Kogami is aware of us and he's gathering forces. The good news is... I believe we may be able to reinstate our O Medal project."

* * *

Sure enough, once Sonosuke woke up, the first thing that happened was that he found himself smothered in kisses from his girlfriend Ruruka. Hajime showed up a little later, hoping to get some information. "Chisa said that while she was forced to be a host for a Despair she could only remember something whispering about all her darkest fears." "Sounds about right," Sonosuke said, with Seiko nodding as well. "I see," Hajime noted, "That fits in with the despair-based nature of the black Core Medals. Did the voice remain constant or did it gradually build?" Sonosuke closed his eyes. "It remained constant, the entire time."

* * *

In the time of The Tragedy, Sonosuke suffered a heavy loss during The Final Killing game. Though he was able to survive, his newfound strength causing him to admit to Ruruka what his NG Code was, Ruruka sadly fell victim to the suicide video. Luckily, Seiko was still alive to comfort him. "I only wish there's something I could have done," Seiko said sadly. "It's not your fault," Sonosuke said, "Your Antagonist could only work against the poison." He smiled. He could smell something in the air. "Besides... I get the feeling our fate is not done changing. Not if he has anything to say about it." He smiled, looking up to the sky as he placed one final candy in his mouth.

To be continued...

 **As the future keeps changing, we see a mysterious figure watching our heroes. Who is this person and what does he want? We'll just have to wait and see. Read and review.**


	9. Chapter 9: Gymnastics

**Our next Kamen Rider is going to be showing up this chapter. You might be wondering why all the Kamen Riders. Well, in the spirit of Danganronpa, I decided to have a total of sixteen Kamen Riders showing up, including the titular OOO. Well, heroic Kamen Riders at an any rate. And as the number of Kamen Riders increases, the danger the enemy poses will increase as well. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 9: Breaking the Chain, Gymnastics, and the Scorching Combo

Kogami was in the middle of baking one his trademark cakes as his secretary Erika Satonaka entered carrying her digital tablet. "Mr. Kogami, our guest has stated that she finally found someone worthy of her power and wanted to go out to meet this person." "As I suspected she would," Kogami said, "Did she give any indication as to who this person might be?" Erika shrugged. "Just that it was a rather athletic individual with a strong fighting spirit. Given another of our guest's race took a mercenary that had been surgically modified, I suppose they instinctively seek out the most physically capable." Kogami smiled as he continued his baking.

* * *

"She must be frustrated," Hajime said. He, along with Ryota, Fuyuhiko, Sonia, and Kazuichi, were watching as Akane was actually practicing some gymnastics via a stint on a set of parallel bars. Hajime wasn't too worried about seeing up her skirt. It was no worse than an add-on to a standard leotard. It was the fact that Akane had no bra on under her blouse that left him concerned for every guy's safety. For Akane it was like a cookie jar filled to the brim, she'd let guys have all the cookies they asked for, but trying to sneak some out was grounds for pain.

Regardless, there was only one reason for Akane actually taking the time to practice her gymnastics skills. Ever since the beef stew incident, she had found herself confronted by her ever increasing feelings for Nekomaru. "At first she tried chalking it up to the aphrodisiacs," Fuyuhiko noted, "But those wore off long ago, and she still can't get him outta her head." "I think I understand," Ryota said, "It's because while Nekomaru does pay attention to Akane's body, he doesn't look at it like a sexual object. Rather, his entire goal for some time has been improving Akane's gymnastic talent. He's interested, but not in a way that Akane is used to, hence the frustration."

"You're damn right!," Akane said as she landed on the mat. She sighed. "Damn it, I'm not used to these sorts of feelings. Sure, I see guys drooling over my body all the time, and honestly why wouldn't they, but the way Coach Nidai looks at me is totally different." She gave another sigh and headed out. "I'm gonna get some chow. Need energy to think." As she walked to the cafeteria, she soon sensed she was being followed. She whirled around, performing a spinning kick as she did, and barely missed a strange flying creature. It looked almost like a cross between a bat and a pendant, and was pure white.

"What the heck are you?," Akane asked. The bat-thing giggled in a girlish voice. "I'm Kivala, a member of the Kivat race, one of the thirteen Demon races that secretly live alongside humans. We Kivats are able to transfer great power to other species, even humans, though human physiology is normally too weak to handle it for more than one use. Luckily, there an exception with me." "Hold on," Akane said, "Why are you discussing things like this with me?" Kivala giggled. "Because, I decided to transfer my powers to you."

She flew around Akane's head. "Mr. Kogami needs as many Kamen Riders as possible to deal with a threat said to be coming within a few years. I offered my services, since I am able to transfer my powers to a human without it killing them. Normally Kivats use their fangs to inject the power into someone, but my case is a little different. But until recently, I've had trouble finding the right person. Someone who is deeply connected to their emotional side, but still strong in their own right. The last person I chose had the former, but lacked the later, so I couldn't use my full power."

She then flew up to Akane's eyes. "But with you I think it could work. What do you say?" Akane realized what Kivala was talking about. The little bat thing must have sensed her growing affection for Nekomaru and singled her. Akane smiled as she realized the implications of what Kivala was offering. "Become a Kamen Rider like Hajime and Ryota? Hell yeah I'm in!" Kivala smiled, or least did as close to it as possible given her near frozen features, and flew out the nearby window, flying back in with a package dressed as a present.

* * *

The mysterious figure found herself approached by the man in the lab coat. "I must admit," the figure said, "Things are proceeding beyond my predictions. You for example. How on earth did you find me?" "You're so confident in your analytical skills," the man explained, "That you have become complacent. Tracking you was easy, whether you did so deliberately or not." He pointed to the Medals the figure had. "Your despair is able to craft new copies of the original three you found, but that can only last for so long. At this rate, your plans will fail. And believe me, we know much about your plans."

He handed the figure a new Driver. "Kazuichi is a mechanical genius, but without a true understanding of the O Medals, your power is limited. Using this, you can reach greater heights with your powers. But do not become complacent. The Kamen Riders who oppose you are growing stronger and more numerous." The figure looked at the new Driver. "And what do you want for your end?" The man smiled. "A chance to research the power of the Medals. We have the base knowledge from Dr. Maki's notes. With this, we hope to gain more insight into the combat abilities." The figure smiled. "Then perhaps I should confront my rival again."

* * *

Akane soon overheard a report that the black monster was spotted near the riverside. Hajime spotted her as she sneaked away with a Cell Medal and took off with one of the Ridevendors. Curious, he followed her on a Ridevendor of his own. When Akane reached the spot where the monster was said to be, she heard a voice call out, _"I was expecting OOO, rather than one of his friends."_ From the upper bridge dropped a armored female figure. The overall style was similar to OOO, but the overall motif of the scorpion, crab, and shrimp made it clear who it was. "Sasanibi," Akane noted. _"Once,"_ the armored figure agreed, _"But I've evolved beyond that. I am now Armored Rider Dark."_

Akane raised an eyebrow. "Armored Rider?" Dark giggled. _"Calling myself a Kamen Rider when I act nothing like a Kamen Rider would insult them. And if there's one thing I've learned, pissing off a Japanese superhero is a surefire quick trip to the afterlife. Speaking of, what sort of Kamen Rider are you."_ Nearby, Hajime watched as Kivala appeared near Akane. "Why don't I show you?" Kivala flew up to Akane's forehead and kissed it. "Chu!" A glowing sigil appeared on Akane's forehead as Akane equipped her Driver and placed Kivala in it upside down. "Henshin!"

(Search Kamen Rider Kiva - Break the Chain)

Akane was surrounded by visible sound waves that caused her transformation. The overall theme seemed to be bat-like, with a violet and white color scheme. While the design was feminine, her stance was anything but. Hajime couldn't help but be reminded of an apex predator ready for the hunt. "I am Kamen Rider Kivala! And you're going down!" Before Dark could react, Kivala had already raced forward, striking the Armored Rider with several powerful blows. Hajime smirked as he got out his own Driver and slotted in the Medals. "Henshin!" _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

Dark turned just in time to see OOO strike her with his Tora claws. Kivala meanwhile took out a small totem and inserted it into the Kivat figure's mouth. _**"Goblin Sword!"**_ Kivala's chest and left arm turned blue as a broadsword with several extra blades appeared in said hand. Kivala used said sword to strike Dark, who quickly countered with her Sasori tail. The two Riders swapped out for different power hoping to counter. _**"Taka! Tora! Cheetah!"**_ _**"Ghost Bow!"**_ Kivala's chest turned yellow, though neither of her arms followed suit.

OOO quickly moved in and managed several quick strikes, easily dodging the Sasori tail and countering the Kani claws with his own Tora claws. Dark quickly back-dashed using the Ebi tail to get some breathing room, only to get several shots from Kivala's bow. Kivala then raced in, switching totems again. _**"Gigant Axe!"**_ Her chest and right arm turned red as a large axe appeared in her right hand. Kivala used said axe to strike at Dark, who barely blocked with her claws. And even then, she could feel the sting. Finally Dark pushed Kivala away and summoned a large bubbly mist. Only this time, it wasn't meant to escape.

Kivala and OOO were caught off-guard as Dark managed to strike them both, sending them flying to the ground. Kivala got up first, shaking her head. "Jeez, who's idea was it to upgrade this girl? Any ideas on how to stop her?" OOO stood up. "I may have idea on both counts. As for the first, we'll discuss that later. For the second..." He took out the Lion Medal. "I think it's time to introduce something new. Remember my Practical Exam?" Dark suddenly got an awful premonition. OOO already had two of the yellow Core Medals slotted and now had the third one in hand. Before she could react, OOO slotted the last Medal and swiped the O Scanner. _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!"**_

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - Ride on Right Time)

The full combo complete, the glow coming off the Lion Medal seemed to spread throughout OOO's armor, to the point where it became for more than a bright light, but a radiating heat. Said heat easily dissipated the mist, as well as most of the river. Dark was completely shocking by this turn of events. Now moving at greater speeds, OOO zoomed past the Armored Rider, slashing her multiple times. He then took his O Scanner and swiped it across the Driver. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ Three yellow rings appeared between him and Dark. As he sped forward, claws extended, OOO called out, "Gush Cross!"

The attack blew Dark across the riverbed. Fortunately for her, her new form was more durable and she didn't wind up getting canceled. Still, it was clear she wasn't winning this fight. She sprayed out another mist, this time with the intent to escape. OOO rushed through, but the Armored Rider was already gone. Both he and Kivala canceled their transformations. "So you were the one Kivala decided to chose," Hajime said, clearly amused. "I guess so," Akane noted, Kivala now sleeping snugly on her shoulder, "What about Dark? If she can now have power similar to a Kamen Rider, it's clear she's getting to be a bigger threat."

"Definitely dangerous," Hajime admitted, "But at the same time complacent in her fighting style. As if she's expecting one thing from a fight, only to get blindsided by something else we do." Akane crossed her arms as she thought. "So in basic terms, she an analyst, but no good in a real fight. The pretty much evens the playing field. It means anytime we come to direct blows, it'll be on her terms, but at the same time we'll have a good chance of beating her." He struck her fists together. "Okay! First thing I need to do is get something to eat. Then I need to resolve my feelings for Coach Nidai." Hajime silently chuckled at that. _'She truly is simple in her ways.'_

* * *

There is very little that can make a Kamen Rider turn away from their goal of helping people for whatever reason. And more often than not, brainwashing one proves nigh impossible. During The Tragedy, Akane wound up separated from her classmates due to them being brainwashed into becoming the Remnants of Despair. Most of them, at least. Hajime and Ryota were also unaffected. As for Chiaki, Akane would make sure to avenge her. Though it took much time, Akane was eventually reunited with her friends, as well as Nekomaru, whom she had truly come to love. As Akane greeted a sun that finally rose to a new dawn, Akane swore to continue to use her strength to protect others. "That's just the path of a Kamen Rider. No need to make it complicated."

To be continued...

 **Expect our mysterious enemy to update her strategy every so often. Keeps things fresh. And next chapter we'll find our next Monster of the Week. Read and review.**


	10. Chapter 10: Therapy

**I've received several theories as to how my story will unfold. I won't say which ones are right and which are wrong, that'll come with time. I will say, however, that a big twist is coming up in this chapter. At least in a meta-sense. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 10: X, Therapy, and a Super Bike

Kogami addressed the Kamen Riders as they gathered in his office. "A few years ago, an organization known as Museum was spreading around items called Gaia Memories, able to turn whoever uses one into a super-human. Where they got such powerful artifacts has never been fully disclosed. What is known, is where they got the funding to produce them. Foundation X." He offered a set of files to each of them. Kyosuke frowned as he noted the information was mostly blank, save for a few known associates, now either dead or in custody. "You're no doubt concerned at the lack of information regarding this group," Kogami noted, "Sadly, the few members captured by authorities have given up precious little."

"We do know they mostly dabble in researching fantastic phenomenon," Hajime stated, "Like the O Medals. They had offered Kiyoto Maki, a former research scientist for this company, a substantial amount of money for any and all research he could perform on these objects. He had gotten so far as to be able to create a Greeed of his own. But it never got off the ground." Kogami smiled. "Hajime was skilled enough to see through Dr. Maki's tricks. He wouldn't take any guff from him, either. As a result of Maki's arrest for the murder of his sister, his information leak to Foundation X was cut off. But know they have the means to start it up again."

"The Armored Rider," Akane noted, "She's using O Medals just like Hajime." "Nothing like Hajime!," Kogami shouted, "Those Black Medals are crafted from pure despair, ripped from the very essence of the Purple Medals. But even though they work on an inverted energy signature, it's more than enough for Foundation X to reverse-engineer the process, and possible craft new O Medals for their own use." "Okay, so how do we proceed?," Kyosuke asked. "Right now our priority is identifying Armored Rider Dark," Hajime noted, "We can't afford to let her keep those Medals. Whoever she is, she's really in tune with despair, letting her craft new Medals whenever she wants."

* * *

The Mystery Girl in question was overlooking the city, peering down at what she identified as meer sheep. She could watch each individual and know what their daily routine was after a few minutes of observing their behavior. "So why is it that even though I can predict how these Kamen Riders fight," she thought aloud, "I can never beat them? Is my body just too slow for my mind?" She looked though the pictures she had and came across one. Smiling, she thought, _'Maybe that's been my problem. I can't keep up with them physically, so I should try the mental approach.'_ She got out one of her Black Medals and slotted it into the picture.

* * *

The Riders rushed into the school medical office upon getting the call from Mikan. They were surprised at who was affected this time. It was Ultimate Therapist Miaya Gekkogahara. "I was kinda expecting Ruruka to be next in line," Mikan admitted, "This just comes out of left field." Ryota realized something. "Seems Dark is trying to attack from a mental perspective. Miaya is a therapist, so the Despair that comes from her will try psychological warfare. Anyone here got any deep, dark secrets?" "I'm gay and have an attraction to Kyosuke," Juzo blurted out. The others stared at him, Kyosuke most of all.

"You do realize I don't swing that way, right?," Kyosuke asked. "Yeah," Juzo said with a sigh, "Hence the reason I never told you. Not to mention me being a champion boxer coupled with Japan's views on homosexuals. But if our next target attacks psychologically, I'd rather burst out of that closet than be dragged out kicking and screaming." There was an awkward silence, with Hajime the first to break it. "I guess that's fine. For my money it doesn't make you any less of a valuable teammate. So, let's make sure we all air out our dirty laundry before going into this."

* * *

Armored Rider Dark and her new Despair were walking through the city. Therapist's Despair was a simple creature, attacking by airing out people's darkest secrets. It was slow to burn through the Cell Medals, but it's purpose was to draw out the Kamen Riders and attack their mentality. Dark smirked under her helmet as she heard the distinctive sound of the Ridevendors. _"Time for you to shine,"_ she said to the Despair, who immediately engaged the Riders. She first confronted Kivala. **"So... A pathological desire to stuff your face at every meal... Using your talent only for money... How on Earth would Nekomaru like someone like you?"**

Kivala responded with a few strikes. "Spend some time in the ghettos surrounded by siblings, and then talk to me. Plus, I'd say Coach prefers me because of my flaws. That way he has something to work with in terms of training." The Despair looked confused for a second, giving Kivala time to activate one of her totems. This one seemed to replace her purple accents for red ones. _**"Wake Up!"**_ Kivala leaped into the air, and came down hard in a classic Rider Kick. "New Moon Breaker!" Therapist's Despair must have been durable, though, because it got back up. She then spotted the other Riders, who were facing off against Dark, and zeroed in on Kuuga.

Engaging the red Rider, she began, **"You spend your whole days hiding away from the world... Obsessing over that silly little animation of yours... Thinking it could bring the world hope..."** "It's true the world has it dark places," Kuuga admitted, "But I've come to accept that, the good and the bad." He kicked the Despair away. "And I'm standing right here, in full view of the world!" _**"Titan Form!"**_ Kuuga brandished his sword and rushed at Therapist's Despair. "Calamity Titan!" The slashing attack sent the Despair sprawling, only to get pulled up by Decade. Looking at her new foe, she said, **"You desire to see the academy brought back to what to you knew, like some wannabe messiah, but how do you know the darkness you've found wasn't always there?"**

"I don't," Decade said bluntly, before punching the Despair across the field, "But I can work to make it like the academy I remember." As Dark fought off OOO and Core, she couldn't help but feel her plan was backfiring in the worst way. Luckily, the two Riders in front of her had the biggest secrets to expose. Meanwhile, Decade got out one of his cards. "I'm a little tired of using the powers of TV heroes. Let's see what I can do personally." _**"Final Attack Ride! D-D-D-Decade!"**_ His flipped his Ride Booker into it's gun mode, several holographic Rider Cards appearing between him and Therapist's Despair. Pulling the trigger, he called out, "Dimension Blast!"

The blast blew the creature towards Core, and smiled. **"You... You probably have the worst secret of all..."** "We already know he's gay!," Kivala called out. "And that he has a crush on me!," Decade chimed in. Both Therapist's Despair and Dark became speechless. _"I never thought in a million years they would so brazenly say that out in the open... Or even learn about it..."_ Core just shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm already out of the closet." He charged his Driver and leapt into the air. "Eagle Dive!" The resulting explosion from the kick blasted the Despair over to OOO, who started brawling with it. "So, gonna talk to me about how I used to have low-self esteem? How becoming OOO is the only thing giving me self-worth?"

The Despair looked shocked at OOO analyzing himself. "No denying my confidence has increased since gaining these powers," OOO admitted, "But that's only because I've found a goal worth pursuing. A goal that will benefit me and those around me. I WILL become the God of Desire!" He slotted in the Cheetah Medal. _**"Taka! Tora! Cheetah!"**_ Using his faster legs, OOO rapidly kicked Therapist's Despair over and over. "If Chiaki were here," he mused, "She'd mention how similar this is to a certain fighting game character." He knocked the creature away with a final roundhouse, and the Despair came whining to Dark. **"I can't take this! They weren't supposed to have already gone through therapy!"**

It ran away at rather high speeds. "Uh oh," Core said, "If it gets away..." "I'm on it," OOO said, and slotted the Lion Medal. _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!"**_ Now swapped to his Latoratah combo, he hurried to his Ridevendor, which folded into its vendor mode. OOO got a yellow Candroid from the vendor before swapping it back to vehicle mode. "Is that a new Candroid?," Kuuga asked as OOO flipped the tab, revealing a mechanical tiger. "Yep," OOO said, "The Tora Candroid. And look what it can do." He tossed the Candroid at the Ridevendor. It grew to a large size and merged with the Ridevendor, giving it tiger motif and brought it to life.

OOO hopped on, instantly calming the mechanical beast. "Keep Dark busy!," he said as he zoomed after the Despair. As he got close, he got out his Medajalibur and slotted in three Cell Medals. _**"Tripple Scanning Charge!"**_ "OOO Bash!" OOO slashed through the Therapist's Despair as he raced past. As reality snapped back into place, the Despair found herself exploding into countless Medals. OOO brought his Toridevendor to a stop before petting it. "Good kitty." Meanwhile, Dark was finding herself outmatched against the other four Riders. She looked as Decade slotted another card. _**"Sentai Rider! Boukenger!"**_

 _"I thought you were tired of using those cards!,"_ Dark noted. "True," Decade replied, "But I have nine whole sets to try out." And with that, he slotted another card. _**"Final Attack Ride! B-B-B-Boukenger!"**_ A rather heavy weapon with a large mixer at its front materialized, along with four other Boukengers. The mixer head started spinning and spitting out a concrete like substance that encased Dark as she futilely tried to struggle. Then the weapon swapped to a drill attachment. "Dual Crusher! Combination Crush!" A powerful laser shot out from the drill, penetrating the concrete and blasting Dark across the field. Seeing this fight lost, she quickly shrouded the area in mist to escape. _"Next time."_

* * *

Miaya became a far more social girl after being released from the Despair monster, to the point she knew her life would be in danger during the time of The Tragedy because of her skills. As such, she asked that at least one Kamen Rider accompany her at all times as she went about her work. This proved a wise move, as Kuuga was able to prevent an attempt on her life by a most unlikely assassin. Miaya was able to help this person understand how wrong they were, but sadly her talents were of limited help during the Final Killing Game. Regardless, she was capable of helping the survivors overcome the trauma, and after the The Tragedy ended, she found with so many clients she became the first ever franchised therapy business. "I guess sometimes life can throw you a curveball you never see coming."

To be continued...

 **Didn't see that coming, did ya? I know you were expecting something else, but that's for later. Regardless, I like it when people take out their issues. That's wrong with the world today, more people need to air out their dirty laundry. Secrets are fine, but too many can bring stress. But I digress (ouch, I rhymed). Read and review.**


	11. Chapter 11: Yakuza

**As grateful as I am to one particular reader for his input, I already have things set up as far as basic future events are concerned. Though fear not, a certain group of precocious scamps will be showing up during this story. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 11: Inheritance, Yakuza, and the A to Z

Erika walked into Kogami's office. Akane was there, stuffing her face with a cake meant to celebrate her "birth" as Kamen Rider Kivala. Erika actually smiled when she saw the gymnast stuffing her face. "I'm glad there's someone else who can handle all that cake. To be honest I can barely stomach them." "Only because you hate sweet things, as you've told me," Kogami said, "Though I do appreciate you eating them regardless." Erika shrugged. "Can't have them go to waste." She sat down near Akane and opened the briefcase she was carrying. "I really prefer spicy foods." "I prefer savory myself," Akane admitted, "But food is food. So what's that?"

She and Kogami looked at the contents of the briefcase. Inside were twenty-six USB drives of various colors. Each of which had a stylized letter and a word beneath said letter. "So they arrived," Kogami noted, "Air, Bird, Crystal, Dynamo, Energy, Fire, Gyro, Hard, Ice, Jewel, Knight, Laser, Magma, Nasca, Ocean, Pirate, Quick, Rocket, Sword, Turbo, Unicorn, Violence, Weather, Xerus, Yamato, Zone." "Aren't these the Gaia Memories you mentioned?," Akane asked. "The production of them halted years ago," Kogami said, "But I was able to get in contact with one, who could gain permission to make a few more."

He lifted the tray with the Memories, and saw something underneath. Another Memory, this one Skull, and a special Driver. Alongside them was a note which read, 'Take good care of this Memory. It once belonged to a great man. K.U.' "Now we have all need to create our next Kamen Rider," Kogami noted with a smile, "Save for a volunteer. But the Greeed are already keeping their eyes peeled for such candidates." Akane then turned on the radio, which was playing a new song named "Ride on Right Time" by a new artist named Eiji Hono. "This is the second time," Erika noted, "First his hit single 'Gotta Keep it Real', the name of which reminded me of Gatakiriba, and now a title reminiscent of Latoratah."

* * *

On the roof of the academy, Fuyuhiko looked out over the city. "Is something troubling you, Young Master?," Peko said as she approached, causing Fuyuhiko to look amused. "I wish you'd stop calling me that. We're the same age for crying out loud." Peko sighed. "Sorry, but I'm too used to it." She paused. "I notice you've been making more time for Natsumi." "After the fiasco with her and that Sato girl, I kinda had to make sure Natsumi doesn't wind up in that situation again," Fuyuhiko said, a little louder than earlier. He then sighed. "But the fact that I can play peacekeeper so easily makes me wonder if I'm even cut out for the Yakuza."

He chuckled. "Maybe Hajime's right. Maybe it is about time we change what it means to be Yakuza." Close by, Uva noted the duo. _'Interesting. I wonder...'_ He decided to take a shot and approach the duo, making sure to use his human guise. Not that he really needed to, since his reputation likely preceded him. It was just a habit the Greeed had adopted to make sure of people's intentions when wanting their desires. "That's an interesting idea," he said aloud, catching the attention of the two students, Peko reaching for her bokken by reflex. "Easy," Uva said, "My name is Uva. I assume you may have heard the name."

Fuyuhiko realized something. "Wait... You one of those Greeed that works for Hajime?" Uva smiled as he resumed his normal, insect-like form. "Indeed. I overheard your conversation, and I think I may have something that can help." He held up a Cell Medal. "Before I use this, I have a proposition. To change the definition of Yakuza will take more than your desire. You must also make the right image." "What sort of Kamen Rider power am I getting?," Fuyuhiko asked bluntly, nearly making Uva facefault. "I never even suggested becoming a Kamen Rider," he replied, a little irritated. "No," Fuyuhiko noted, "But I kinda figured it was coming."

Uva sighed, but couldn't help smiling, even though he only had a mouth in his human guise. "Well, that simplifies things, assuming you're willing to take that step." Fuyuhiko nodded. "Young Master," Peko said, "Are you sure?" "This creep making all the Despair is after Ultimates, right?," Fuyuhiko asked, "How long before she targets our classmates? How long before she zeroes in on you?" Peko blinked at the implications her Master was making. "Peko," Fuyuhiko said, "This time, I want to be able to protect you." Uva approached. "If that is the case, I'll make sure my servant helps you fulfill all your desires." He held the Medal to Fuyuhiko's forehead, manifesting a coin slot.

* * *

Later, Dark was stalking the city, having just created a new Despair. This time Ruruka was the target, and the area was filled with various candies, the very smell of which was leaving people hazy. _"Those silly Kamen Riders won't be able to approach this environment,"_ Dark said triumphantly. "Don't count us out so easily," came Ryota's voice. He, along with Akane and Hajime, had just arrived on their Ridevendors, sporting gas masks. The sight of it caused Dark to facepalm. _"How do you somehow manage to go against my predictions all the time?"_ "Guess you're just unlucky," Akane snarked, "Ready, guys?"

The three activated their various Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Chu!"**_ _**"Mighty Form!"**_ _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ _"Pour on the sweets,"_ Dark said to the Confectioner's Despair. But before the battle could begin, a shadow appeared over the battlefield. The Riders looked up to see a humanoid dragonfly. "Is that... A Yummy?," Kuuga asked. "It must be one of Uva's," OOO noted, "But why is it here, and who is it attached to?" The answer came soon enough, as another Ridevendor came in. The trio immediately the rider as Fuyuhiko. As he approached, he leapt off the bike and landed in front of the Despair.

"Room for one more?," he snarked, before placing the Driver delivered to Kogami on his waist. He then held up the Skull Memory and clicked it. "Henshin!" He slotted the Memory into the Lost Driver and tilted it. _**"Skull!"**_ In an instant, the power of the Memory coated him in a familiar black armor, with a skull-shaped helmet. "Woah," OOO said, "So Kamen Rider Skull rises again." The newly-named Skull smiled under his helmet. "Skull huh? I like the sound of that." He turned towards the Despair. "Now, let's see if your sins stack up to mine." The Confectioner's Despair started kicking up whole walls of candy, launching projectiles as it did.

Kivala and Kuuga quickly dodged to the side, Kivala using one of her Fuestles while Kuuga swapped forms. _**"Ghost Bow!"**_ _**"Pegasus Form!"**_ Meanwhile, OOO charged forward, swapping out his Medals. _**"Taka! Tora! Cheetah!"**_ Skull, meanwhile, got out a second Memory. "Time to get a bird's eye view." He slotted the second Memory, but right in front of the Skull Memory, and seemingly backwards. He then proceeded to fold out the Driver, turning into a Double Driver. _**"Skull-Bird!"**_ The pure black armor now had bright green accents and sported a pair of bird wings, which Skull used to get above the action. He the noticed the Despair trying to make a move away from the action. "Our prey's escaping."

He landed on a roof just long enough to switch to another memory. _**"Skull-Gyro!"**_ Now sporting dark green accents and a propellor on his back, Skull zoomed after the Despair, OOO following on the ground. Meanwhile Kuuga spotted the Confectioner's Despair and started firing with his bowgun. The Despair conjured another candy wall. Kivala caught up and swapped Fuestles. _**"Gigant Axe!"**_ The heavy axe proved effective at cutting down the walls. Skull landed next to his teammate. "Let's make this a little softer," he said, changing Memories. _**"Skull-Fire!"**_ As Skull burned the candy wall, Kuuga came in changing forms again. _**"Titan Form!"**_

He joined Kivala in slicing apart the walls as OOO came in, swapping Medals again. _**"Taka! Kamakiri! Cheetah!"**_ The combination of speed and slicing power helped the group progress quickly. Skull finished melting the harder walls before swapping Memories again. _**"Skull-Knight!"**_ Sporting a shield and morningstar, Skull put the heavy to good use. Between the four of them they got close to the Despair. But just as they broke through the final wall, Dark moved between them, spraying the area in mist. _"I won't let you destroy this one. My plans cannot be overcome."_

"Damn," Skull said as the mist cleared, leaving the Riders alone, "We almost had it." "We can still track where they went," Kuuga noted, "Social media and our own Candroids can help us narrow the search. But Fuyuhiko, I never thought-" "That in a million years I'd never become a superhero?," Fuyuhiko finished as he canceled his transformation, "Let's just say a recent conversation with Hajime left me with a lot to think about, and this is my answer." He looked up at the Dragonfly Yummy. "And with his help, I may just find the means to see it through." Hajime looked at the Yummy. "Uva and the others are gonna eat well when that one matures."

* * *

Eventually Fuyuhiko would succeed in redefining Yakuza, but only because The Tragedy would wind up nearly obliterating the old Yakuza, with his sister Natsumi being his only blood-relative to survive. When most of his classmates became brainwashed thanks to Chiaki's murder, Fuyuhiko swore he would break Peko out of it. It took a great deal of work, and at one point he was afraid he would lose Peko forever. But even in the face of despair, hope can flourish. As is befitting the destiny of a Kamen Rider, when things looked darkest, fate smiled upon the young man as he was reunited with the woman he loved. The two of them were now heading out of the city, hoping to put a stop to more crime elsewhere. "This is the new Yakuza. A force that shows true evil the door... The hard way."

To be continued...

 **For the record, Skull has access to only thirteen of those Memories, specifically A-M. They are indeed based on the T2 Gaia memories from the Kamen Rider W movie, but with a few replacements that either don't involve Memories used by Kamen Riders, or are more combat suited than what was presented. Read and review.**


	12. Chapter 12: Confections

**The Final Killing Game from Danganronpa 3 was, in many ways, more brutal than the two that preceded it. So it makes it completely ironic that it was conducted in the name of hope instead of despair. Oh the irony. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 12: The Hunt, Confections, and the Gravity Combo

Sonosuke looked at Ruruka's unconscious state. "What she's going through," Seiko noted, "Can she even take it? She has a bad habit of breaking down when things aren't all smiles and sunshine." Sonosuke shrugged. "I don't know. But I do believe Hajime and the others will make it in time." "It's been a while though," Seiko said, "Are we even sure there is enough time? Then again, I wasn't afflicted for more than ten minutes." "We'll know before long," Sonosuke said softly, stroking Ruruka's hair. The two friends looked at each other, worried for the young lady currently experiencing her worst fears and despairs, even as heroes fought to restore her hope.

* * *

Dark was getting exasperated at how tenacious the Kamen Riders were in there pursuit. It didn't help that the Confectioner's Despair was only good for long range or defense. And it seemed like every time the two of them got away from the various Candroids hunting them, the Riders would close in somehow. More than once Dark had to fight off a Kamen Rider just to get some breathing room. At this point it was a war of attrition. While the Despair was still burning through the Cell Medals just by running, it was a slow process. And every other half-hour or so another Rider would show up.

Finally getting a second to catch her breath, Dark looked around and soon spotted someone on a nearby rooftop. It was a humanoid creature, the design vaguely reminding her of felines. Suddenly, images of OOO's Latoratah Combo came to mind, and Dark realized these two must be connected somehow. She looked closer, and saw the creature had a tablet in one hand, and a Candroid in the other. He seemed to be speaking into the Candroid, the eyes lighting up as he did. The gears whirled in Dark's head, and finally she understood why it was so hard to get away.

The Candroids were numerous enough to get good coverage over the entire city, but they still couldn't cover every square inch at once. And even if they did find her and her Despair, they still had to take the time to fly back to the Riders and bring them over. However, there were people not far from every area Dark had tried hiding in, most of them using their mobile phones. And there was a good chance at least someone had seen either her or, more likely, the Confectioner's Despair and snapped a pic to blog about it. _"Oh crap,"_ Dark realized, _"I'm not the one with the advantage in this war of attrition."_

* * *

Jin was working in his office, looking over some of the new recruits Kohichi had scouted. Said scout was also in the room, drinking as usual. "So," Kohichi said, "I heard a rumor that our Ultimate Yakuza has decided to give being a hero a try. Our newest Kamen Rider, whom the social medias are quickly calling 'Kamen Rider Skull'. Name's certainly fitting given the design of his armor. By the way, you're in luck. I scouted your daughter like you asked. Her skills make her a definite shoe-in for the academy." "Good," Jin said, as he looked at a picture of him and his daughter, Kyoko, when she was a little girl. "So many things left unsaid... Maybe now I'll get the chance."

"I still have a few more leads before we can confirm the 78th class for Hope's Peak Academy," Kohichi admitted, "Not to mention this year's lottery to decide the new Ultimate Lucky Student. So far the old men have stayed quiet, especially after Hajime's Practical Exam. But I have a sneaking suspicion they may try to get more involved in the recruitment process for the academy." Jin rubbed his chin. "That could complicate matters. The Steering Committee is only interested in the results of their little experiment. At least recent developments have halted the Kamakura Project, for now at least." He started looking up a few school files. "I think we should consider sending our informants over to Kogami."

* * *

The Confectioner's Despair had started generating its candy again, hoping to escape in the confusion. More people lulled meant fewer people seeing them as they tried to escape. Unfortunately, that's when Skull decided to move in, having already zeroed in them. **"How?,"** The Despair asked, **"We already rendered everyone here unconscious."** Skull pointed upwards to the Dragonfly Yummy flying overhead. "My new friend has been keeping an eye on you. Dragonflies are known to have the best eyesight in the insect kingdom. As a bonus, they aren't affected by the overly sweet candies you're producing."

The Despair fired off several hard candies, hoping to damage Skull. As he dodged around, Kivala showed up behind him. _**"Gigant Axe!"**_ Brandishing her axe, Kivala chopped one of the projectiles in half. Skull, meanwhile, brought out a new Memory for extra defense. _**"Skull-Hard!"**_ The hard candies bounced harmlessly off Skull thanks to the new Memory as he readied his Skull Magnum while Kivala swapped Fuestles. _**"Ghost Bow!"**_ Both took aim at the Despair. "Skull Punisher!" "Phantom Chill!" The two shots impacted on the Confectioner's Despair, but didn't seem to do more than crack it.

"We need more strength that that," OOO said as he and Kuuga drove up, "Let me try a new combo, well suited to opponent's like this." Dark, who was nearby, got a bad feeling. _"So what will this one do, swallow the very earth beneath our feet?"_ Beneath his helmet, OOO smiled. "Almost." He got the three Gray Medals and slotted them. _**"Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... Sa-Go-Zo!"**_ A deep rumbling could be heard as OOO was surrounded by the energy of the Medals, turning his armor gray with a motif of rhinoceros, gorilla, and elephant. As the transformation completed, OOO triumphantly banged his chest with his new, oversized gauntlets.

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - Sun Goes Up)

Dark and the Despair looked on as OOO kept banging his chest, to the point where visible shockwaves could be seen emanating from him, lifting them up into the air. _"Oh of all the powers... Gravity control!? Seriously!? That's the one power I never could have anticipated!"_ "Really?," Kuuga asked, "Out of everything possible for superheroes, that's what you never expected?" OOO stopped his assault long enough for the two enemies to drop to the ground hard. _"Touche...,"_ Dark muttered. The Confectioner's Despair got up and raised a candy wall, but OOO simply stomped his foot, creating an earthquake that crumbled the wall to its foundation.

The Despair, now terrified, kept backing up and making more walls, only for OOO to smash through them with the Sai Medal's power which gave him a stronger skull. The last sent the Despair sprawling. Dark tried to intervene, but got interrupted in a quick manner. _**"Skull-Energy!"**_ The sudden burst of energy stopped Dark in her tracks. She then turned around nervously to see the other three Riders staring her down. Ignoring the sounds of violence behind him as Dark tried to fight off her three aggressors, OOO activated his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ Through sheer gravity control, OOO lifted into the air, then came down hard to crack the ground and trap Confectioner's Despair inside it.

The Despair struggled in vain as it was brought close to OOO. "Sagozo Impact!" OOO struck the Despair with both gauntlets and his helmet simultaneously, utterly destroying the creature as it exploded into Cell Medals. _"Damn,"_ Dark said as she made her usual escape, _"I was so close this time."_ After the mist vanished, the four Riders regrouped. "Real good at running away, ain't she?," Skull noted. The four of them canceled their transformations. "Nice to see another classmate join us, Fuyuhiko," Hajime said. He then spotted the Dragonfly Yummy flying away. "Guess it's job's done," Fuyuhiko said with a smile, "I got all I need to make my desires a reality."

* * *

Back in the medical ward of the academy, Mikan came in just in time to see Ruruka wake up. "Uh...," the Ultimate Confectioner said groggily, "Why does it feel like I got smacked in the head by a rhino while being punched by a gorilla?" "Oddly specific," Sonosuke said, "But it's good that you woke up. Feel any better?" Ruruka nodded with a smile. "Yeah, the ringing in my ears faded almost immediately. But more importantly, those horrible voices are long gone." She hugged her boyfriend, while Seiko actually removed her medical mask to show how much she was smiling.

* * *

The Final Killing Game was perhaps the most brutal out of the all the events that take place during the time of The Tragedy. Or at least, it used to be. Ruruka, emboldened by her newfound hope, confided in her friends what her NG was, and they in turn did the same. As a result, it quickly spread, and the entire group of players made an effort not to try leaving until they could cancel the game. Though one young woman fell victim to the poison, she didn't die thanks to Seiko's Antagonist antidote. As Future Foundation finally achieved its dream, thanks in large part to the Kamen Riders, Ruruka opened her own sweets store. She was determined to use whatever talents she had to bring happiness to others. "This after all, is my own desire."

To be continued...

 **And with this, the entire Final Killing Game has been reversed. But we're not quite done. We've only been twelve chapters in and Dark is still a threat. Let's keep this train rolling. Read and review.**


	13. Chapter 13: Mechanics

**In this chapter I'm introducing a completely original Kamen Rider. While the overall theme takes inspiration from Zoids, there is enough of a conceptual difference that I doubt I'll need the disclaimer for it. Now, we're getting into changing the fates of the students involved in the Island Killing Game. During the changing of the Final Killing Game, I went in the order in which they died (more or less since two undone deaths were glossed over and Miaya was technically already dead when the game started). From now on, the undone deaths will be in reverse order. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 13: A Pet Project, Mechanics, and the Torn Attraction

Everyone in the 77th Class was celebrating Fuyuhiko's new "birth" as Kamen Rider Skull. Kogami had really outdone himself with the cake, presenting a real treat catered to each student's personal taste, as well as Chisa's. Even Natsumi was there, having heard about her brother becoming a superhero. "Man even Pop is stoked," Natsumi noted, "'This could bring great PR to our family. 'We may not even need to rely on more obvious illegal activities.' That's what he said." Fuyuhiko sweatdropped. "I hope he didn't say it in public like you just did." He then looked around. "Wait, where's Hiyoko? Did she skip out on the party?"

"Sorry," Hiyoko said as she came out of the bathroom, surprising Natsumi. "Wait, wasn't she, like, the kid in your class?" Hiyoko had been undergoing a growth spurt ever since the Practical Exam, and it looked like it had hit its peak. Hiyoko now stood at a relatively equal level to the rest of the class, and even with her kimono on it was clear her bust size and gotten more pronounced. She smirked as she sidled up to Kazuichi. "So, whaddya think? I know you're into blondes, like me." She gave a wink, making Kazuichi's heart skip. He quickly shook his head, hoping to clear his thoughts. Of course, he still had his attraction to Sonia, which he was hardly subtle about.

But lately, Sonia and Gundham had been getting pretty close, to the point where they were almost in sync. Speaking of Gundham, he had started to really respect Hajime. "The warriors he attracts to his cause... His burning desire to achieve god-hood... I feel like a mere paper tiger before a storm compared to him." "Now don't go getting thoughts like that," Sonia said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "That's the sort of thing that attracts... Whatever is causing these monsters to emerge from our fellow students." As the party continued, Kazuichi decided to leave early. "What's with him?," Chiaki asked. "He's in the middle of a project for Kogami," Hajime explained.

* * *

Inside his workshop, Kazuichi had two mech suits in front of him. One was a system that Kogami had asked Kazuichi to perfect, one started by Dr. Maki but never really finished. Already Kazuichi had managed to streamline the system's Cell Medal usage, as well as removing an explosive from the system that Dr. Maki left in for whatever reason. The other suit was something Kazuichi had been working on in his spare time. The main reason Kazuichi was so eager to finish both projects was because he was aware that Dark was using the technology he had reverse engineered.

His classmates who were Kamen Riders knew about the project, as did the Kogami Foundation. This included the head of the Ridevendor unit that helped patrol the city, hoping to find information involving Armored Rider Dark. His name was Shintaro Goto, who was currently watching Kazuichi as he made some final adjustments to his pet project. "You look like something's on your mind," Shintaro noted. "It's Hiyoko," Kazuichi admitted, "She still acts like normal, but when she acts all flirtatious like she did at the party..." He sighed.

Shintaro just shrugged. "Just sounds to me like you're putting way too much emphasis on appearances. How much do you really know about these two girls?" Kazuichi looked sullen. "Not a lot. Heck when I heard that we were getting a real princess for a classmate, I wondered what sort of princess she'd be. One look at Sonia and I thought 'princess classic'. But it's getting pretty obvious that ain't the case." He went to his project. "Well, so long as I can put my skills to good use, I can't consider myself a complete loser. Really gotta thank you for all the combat lessons. Once this baby is finished, it won't matter how many enemies Dark brings."

* * *

Meanwhile, Dark was meeting with her Foundation X contact. "Those Kamen Riders have been running you ragged lately," he said. "I personally blame myself," Dark admitted, "As unparalleled as my mind is, my body just can't keep up. Doesn't help that the Despair monsters I create come from the same source of power as OOO." The contact shrugged. "Hardly anything you can do about that. But you might be able to even the playing field with a few more bodies. You managed to grab a few Cell Medals from each of your creatures that was destroyed, yes?"

"Sure," Dark said, holding up one such Medal, "Sentimental, I know, but I was responsible for creating these creatures. Seeing them destroyed... Well, I think you know me enough." The contact nodded. "Dr. Maki's notes indicated a certain action that could happen when a Cell Medal is broken in half. Used properly, it can at least buy you time to make a new strategy. Or perhaps even overwhelm them. I've not seen the action in question, so I don't know how powerful the results will be. But as I said, our primary concern is protecting our investments and projects." Dark looked at the Medal for a moment. After a few seconds, she broke it in half.

* * *

Moments later, Hajime, Juzo, Kyosuke, and Fuyuhiko showed up to a strange sight in the middle of a shopping center. Lots of mummy-like humanoids with dirty bandages and holes where their faces would be, causing havoc for the shoppers. "They look like immature Yummies," Fuyuhiko noted. "Worse," Hajime said, "They're Waste Yummies, little more than trash created by destroying a Cell Medal. The Greeed haven't created any since Dr. Maki's arrest." "Maybe Dark had something to do with them," Juzo noted, "I spotted her occasionally grabbing some of the Cell Medals from the destroyed Despair monsters."

"Whether they are or not," Kyosuke concluded, "They're attacking people." They each got out their Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Skull!"**_ _**"Kamen Ride! Decade!"**_ _**"Style: Avian!"**_ _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ As the Kamen Rider's rushed at the Waste Yummies, OOO called out, "Try sticking to multi-attacks." "Got it," Skull replied, "Time for some volcanic action." _**"Skull-Magma!"**_ The large fireballs Skull shot off were able to blast several Wastes at once, clearing a great deal of breathing room. "Not bad," OOO said, "But maybe try something with a little less chance of collateral." He got out his Kuwagata Medal to demonstrate. _**"Kuwagata! Tora! Batta!"**_

"I gotcha," Skull said with a nod, and got out another Memory. _**"Skull-Dynamo!"**_ "Don't leave me out of this," Decade said, getting out a new card. _**"Sentai Rider! Goseiger!"**_ Decade than got out another card. "One good set of cards deserves another." _**"Attack Rider! Comprethunder!"**_ The card manifested another card, as well a totem-like devise called a Tensouder, which Decade slotted the new card into. "Tensou!" The three riders launched their electric attacks, scattering the Wastes and destroying several, though they didn't leave any Medals behind.

* * *

Overhead, Dark watched as the Riders tore apart the new creatures. _"Interesting. In the long run they are useless, but with extra numbers I can certainly use them for distraction purposes. Especially since I need time to learn more about the new class."_ She then spotted another Ridevendor showing up, with another new face on it. _"Don't tell me there's another new Rider added to the roster. At this rate I'll need a more permanent partner. I suppose I'll have to waste another Medal."_ She took out a second Medal and broke it, throwing the pieces to the ground before leaving.

* * *

As the new group of Wastes showed up, Core noticed a new Ridevendor coming in. "Who is it this time?" When the Ridevendor stopped, the group was surprised to see Kazuichi on it. "Hey guys. Mind if it tag in?" He got off the Ridevendor as it folded up, and slotted a cell Medal to bring out several Tako Candroids which proceeded to keep the Wastes busy. Kazuichi then got out a base Driver and attached it to his waist, buckling the attached belt. He then unclipped on of the four lion heads attached to the belt, this one white. "Henshin!"

 _ **"Mode: Liger!"**_ Various armor pieces seemed to materialize from nowhere as the Driver manifested a black bodysuit for Kazuichi. The armor pieces then clicked into place, forming much like a mechanical soldier with a lion-style helmet. Kazuichi pulled off a military-style salute before posing. "Kamen Rider Battalion! Reporting for duty!" "Battalion?," OOO asked, "That's a new one." "Here," Battalion said as he got out a green lion head, "Let me give you a real sample." _**"Mode: Panzer!"**_ The armor pieces detached and got swapped around, some disappearing only to be replaced, others changing color. The new armor form looked much like a humanoid tank.

"Just need someone to knock 'em over here," Kazuichi noted. "On it," OOO said, with Core joining him. _**"Style: Mammalian!"**_ _**"Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... Sa-Go-Zo!"**_ Core now sported a grey cloak with elephant features, and his helmet featured eyes similar to a giant mammal. The two Riders started punching Waste Yummies in Battalion's general direction. Once a good number were in the air, Battalion's Driver glowed. "Armament Assault!" A pair of anti-infantry cannons appeared on his shoulders and began blasting away, blowing the Wastes to oblivion.

* * *

As the Riders returned to the academy, Fuyuhiko noted to Kazuichi, "Man, you are some kinda crazy. Where did you even get that system?" "Little pet project while working on something for Kogami," Kazuichi admitted, "Had to find some way of making up for the mistake of making Dark her own Driver." As they reached the main gate, a young woman with strawberry blonde hair and a curvaceous figure passed them. Standing there watching her leave was Kohichi. "Who was that?," Hajime asked. "New recruit for the next year," Kohichi said, "But she was elected by the Steering Committee. She said she was here for research, but only seemed interested in the student roster." That got the Riders nervous.

* * *

Kazuichi would continued to work with his fellow Riders during the time of The Tragedy. His genius in mechanics and engineering made great strides restoring the JSDF to its original honor, allowing them to once again act in defense of the people. Plus, with the various evil robots out in the world, the Battalion system proved more than adequate to deal with the numbers. Kazuichi also played a hand in helping to restore his classmates from their brainwashed state. He had eventually settled on Hiyoko, much to her delight. "In the end, every man must make a choice. And more often than not, that choice is never easy."

To be continued...

 **I think you can guess who that mystery girl was. We'll explore the whole Kazuichi/Hiyoko pairing over the course of a few chapters. But until then, we still have our next Despair to unleash. Read and review.**


	14. Chapter 14: Gaming

**Y'know guys, I don't appreciate bugging me about when the next chapter is going to come out. I'm still human, and need regular breaks now and then. These will come out at my own pace, but they will come out, so don't worry. Anyway, let's get into the next Monster of the Week. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 14: Research, Gaming, and a Girlfriend

While Hajime continued his work on perfecting the Purple Medals, the other Riders were meeting in the security office at the academy. "So that girl we saw," Fuyuhiko said, "Her name is Junko Enoshima. She's a big name in the fashion industry, always able to stay on top of the latest trends. Every magazine cover, every centerfold, she's graced it at least once. But that doesn't explain why she caught the Steering Committee's attention rather than Kohichi's." "What makes Kohichi such a good scout for the academy," Kyosuke noted, "Is his skill at reading people. Not just their Ultimate talent, but also their personality."

"Plus he shows absolute loyalty to Headmaster Kirigiri," Juzo said, "Guy's a lazy bastard but he's hyper-intelligent. Perhaps something about Junko rubbed him the wrong way. He always selects students who not only have useful skills, but also the right mindset to use them for humanity's benefit. The Steering Committee, on the other hand, they only care about their little experiments. Talent is all they truly care about." "Here's what I wanna know," Ryota chimed in, "Why on Earth was Junko so interested in the student roster? Sure there could be a number of reasons, but it'd be nice to rule out at least a few."

"I spoke with Kohichi," Juzo replied, "Junko seemed most interested in the 77th class. She seemed particularly interested in the fact that a Reserve Course student was able to get promoted to Ultimate." "Here's something else," Akane noted, "Crazy as it sounds, all the attacks somehow managed to coincide with sightings of Junko around the area. Public appearances, photo shoots, that sort of thing. Usually the sightings of Despair monsters would coincide with Junko ending one of the sessions. Kinda makes you wonder, don't it?" It did get the Riders wondering, and considering just how little they knew about Junko.

* * *

Sure enough, Junko was sitting in her apartment, a familiar set of Medals on her desk as she went over photos of the 77th class. _'I thought as much. The pictures for Kazuichi, Fuyuhiko, Akane, and Ryota are useless for making Despairs. Too bad, judging from their files I thought they would make great resources, but perhaps the files need to be updated.'_ She then looked at a picture of Hajime. "And you are the most interesting of them all, Mr. Hinata. It's not everyday that a student from the depressing Reserve Course gets to earn a cushy job among the Ultimates."

She pondered over Hajime's title. _'Ultimate Kamen Rider. I know he's OOO, but the fact that he's considered the Ultimate among all the others implies his range of skill and overall combat ability makes him elite.'_ She smiled. _'It's possible that his presence may wind up causing a mishap or two with my plans. That should truly make things interesting. But I still have my Ultimate Tragedy to complete, so let's see who can win this tug of war.'_ She took one the Black Medals and looked through the remaining pictures, finally smiling as she saw Chiaki's picture. "Ah, the class representative. Perfect!"

* * *

Chiaki and Mikan were talking with each other while using two handheld consoles to trade items across the same game played on both handhelds. The fact that the entire class was bonding through a medium Chiaki loved above all else gave her hope that her talent could be useful, instead of the niche she originally thought it was. "So," Chiaki asked, "Are you interested in anyone right now?" Mikan sighed. "I thought I was. When Hajime reassured me during our first game night I thought I felt something then. But now I find myself more and more attracted to Ryota for no reason other than we spend so much time together."

"I think I understand your main problem," Chiaki noted, "You're so used to people bullying you, that even the smallest shred of kindness and you fall in love, never giving a thought to the context of that kindness. And when people act indifferent, you think they're simply ignoring you. It's a bad habit you need help with. Good thing Miaya recovered, I bet she could help." Mikan thought about. "When you put it like that, I do sound messed up. So, what about you? Are you interested in anyone?" "Well...," Chiaki started. But before she could finish, she felt a sudden shock. Mikan looked in shock at the familiar sight of Medals as Chiaki uttered, "Get... Hajime..."

* * *

Hajime finally rejoined the group and heard about their theory. "It's an interesting one, in lieu of any other suspects," Hajime noted, "But we would have to forcefully cancel Dark's transformation to confirm it. But even if that's the case, if Foundation X is backing her, they can cover for her in front of the Steering Committee." That's when a call came on Hajime's cell. 'Hajime!,' came Mikan's frantic voice, 'Chiaki got hit with one of those Despair monsters! It's rampaging in the academy courtyard!' Hajime grimaced. "We'll be right there! Team, a new Despair has shown up! Time to ride!"

* * *

The newly created Gamer's Despair was sending out constructs made from electro-magnetic energy, sending them across the school. As one game character neared a student, it was suddenly shut down by what looked like an eel made from short cylinders. Gamer's Despair got confused until it was blasted by Skull's Skull Magnum. "Hope you like the new Unagi Candroids," he said, "Fresh off the assembly line." OOO and Kivala came in right after him, knocking the Despair to the ground. Nearby, Dark prepared to intervene, only to get stopped by Battalion and Kuuga.

"Sorry," Battalion said, "But OOO has a personal stake in this." He got out an orange lion head. _**"Mode: Schneider!"**_ _**"Dragon Form!"**_ Battalion now had orange armor pieces with several blades sheathed in key points on his body within arms' reach. He got two of these from his waist while Kuuga manifested his Dragon Rod. Unflinching, Dark manifested her Kani claws and proceeded to clash with the two heroic Riders. Meanwhile, Gamer's Despair had conjured a giant spaceship and began flying off. "Oh no you don't," OOO said as he swapped out Medals to keep up while Skull activated a second memory. _**"Taka! Tora! Cheetah!"**_ _**"Skull-Gyro!"**_

"Decade," OOO said into a Batta Candroid, "Gamer's Despair is on the move in a Gradius-style spaceship. Move in and target the central core. Should be big and obvious." On a nearby roof, Decade got the message. "Sweet, I always did enjoy Gradius." _**"Sentai Ride! Magiranger!"**_ _**"Attack Ride! Sky Hokie!"**_ His Ridevendor magically changed into a futuristic flying broom, Decade got on and flew near Skull. "Gonna need some firepower!" "On it," Skull said as he hopped on the back of the Sky Hokie and swapped Memories. _**"Skull-Laser!"**_ He took aim with his Skull Magnum and started blasting the shields in front of the core.

With the final shield removed, Decade hopped off returning to his base form. _**"Attack Ride! Blast!"**_ He and Skull both aimed at the core of the ship as they landed, destroying the construct and leaving Gamer's Despair vulnerable. OOO, who had manged to keep pace thanks to the Cheetah Medal, now slotted three Cell Medals into the Medajalibur. _**"Triple Scanning Charge!"**_ "OOO Bash!" Completely caught off-guard, the Despair was unable to defend against the attack and exploded into Medals. Back at the Academy, Dark's picture of Chiaki spit out the Black Medal, which shattered. _"Damn. I'm not done by a long shot."_ She quickly made a spray of mist to escape.

* * *

In the medical wing, Chiaki stirred as she saw Hajime sitting next to her. "Hey. Somehow I knew you'd get me out of that," Chiaki said, smiling. Hajime smiled. "Well, I couldn't let you fall to despair before I let my feelings be known." Chiaki blushed. "Does that mean what I think it means?" "Well," Hajime noted, "You are an amazing person. Your desire to see others come together is truly admirable, as well as your desire to see your talent put to good use. You just seem to bring out the best in everyone. Plus," he grinned, "You're very gorgeous."

Chiaki elbowed him, but smiled. "To be honest, I've been feeling the same way about you." The two of them intertwined their fingers. After staring at each smiling, they finally gave each other a chaste kiss. Shortly after after, Goto came in wheeling a large dessert tray with a covered cake on it. "What's this about?," Hajime asked. "To be honest," Goto smirked, "Kogami saw this coming a mile away." He removed the cover to see the cake had the writing, "Happy Birthday, Hajime x Chiaki". The new couple looked at each other and giggled. "Man, Kogami just sees everything, doesn't he?"

"Not everything," Goto admitted, "He left it up to fate as to who would become OOO. For all he knew, he would wind up becoming OOO himself. Though to be honest, you've done the best job so far. I can't imagine anyone else would make it as far as you have." At that moment, the nearby radio announced another new hit single from Eiji Hono called "Sun Goes Up". After listening for a few quick seconds, Hajime raised. "Okay, once is an accident, twice is coincidence, but three times... Is this Eiji guy spying on me?" "That or he happens to be around every time you use a new combo," Chiaki guessed. That got the three of them laughing.

* * *

Thanks to her newfound hope, Chiaki was able to avoid death twice over in the time of The Tragedy. First, when OOO saved her from a death trap in the depths of the academy. And then again during the Island Killing Game. When Nagito was going through with his plot to single out the "traitor" in group, Hajime happened to be in Tatoba form and his super-senses picked up the poison in the fire-extinguisher. This made him warn the others about it, including Chiaki. As a result, Nagito was "killed" by his hand slipping and letting the spear impale him. As a result, the subsequent class trial ruled his "death" suicide.

Though of course Chiaki knew it was only a virtual death. And like in a video game, if you died in a virtual world, it wasn't permanent in the real world. It just took a bit more effort to bring their friends back. Chiaki was now standing with her fiance Hajime looking over the newly recreated Hope's Peak Academy. "So," Chiaki said, "That makes three times you've saved my life." Hajime smiled. "Well, saving people is what heroes do. But there's no denying that without you, I'd be the one plunging into despair." Chiaki smiled. "Well then, let's just keep being each others hope." They embraced, both each other and the future.

To be continued...

 **Now, to all my readers, don't go hanging onto my every word. I'm still human, so don't take extended periods of no chapters as a "break". Sometimes I get writer' block and don't know how to continue the story. Sometimes I get distracted and forget to write. I can't crank these out every day. So please, LET ME LIVE MY LIFE ON MY TERMS! Read and review.**


	15. Chapter 15: Luck

**I've come to realize I haven't been showing the Greeed very much in this story. Fair enough since they're not the bad guys this time, but at the same time they do important work behind the scenes. So I'm gonna be showcasing them in this chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 15: Transport, Luck, and the Cous Coussier

Chiaki had no idea what to make of the restaurant Hajime had taken her to for their first date. Sure it was nice enough, and it was mostly because some of Hajime's friends worked there. But when she heard it was an international-themed restaurant, she wasn't expecting them to go so far. "Looks like Chiyoko is doing Canadian this time around," Hajime noted. Sure enough, there were several posters depicting international hockey teams, a giant flag with the Canadian maple leaf, several fake beavers dotted here and there, and every table had a bottle of maple syrup on it. Even the owner, Chiyoko Shiraishi, was dressed as a traditional Canadian mountie.

"I hope they don't go spouting stereotypical Canadian lingo," Chiaki noted as she enjoyed her poutine. "Nah," Hajime replied as he bit into his hamburger, "Chiyoko goes for authenticity, not stereotyping. She makes sure to do her research before implementing a theme." Chiaki nodded. She then saw a young man enter the building, who was greeted cheerfully by one of the part-timers, Hina Izumi. Chiaki blinked, then took a second. "Hey Hajime. That guy there kinda reminds me of Ankh's human form." Hajime looked. "He should. That's Hina's brother, Shingo Izumi. He used to be Ankh's host."

"How did that happen?," Chiaki asked. "When the previous OOO became the seal for the Greeed," Hajime explained, "Only part of Ankh, specifically his right forearm, got sealed as well. When he first gave me the ability to become OOO, Shingo, who works as a police officer, got critically injured during the exchange. Ankh then took advantage of it and used Shingo as a temporary vessel until he could regain the rest of his body. Over time Shingo recovered, largely due to Ankh's accelerated healing affecting him, so that by the time Ankh recovered the rest of his body it was safe to leave Shingo permanently. Ankh liked the appearance so much he adopted it for his disguise."

Chiaki nodded. "I get it. And altered it just enough so people would make a distinction. Speaking of, I haven't heard anything about the Greeed for a while." "They've been busy," Hajime shrugged, "Besides using their powers to prevent more people from becoming Despair hosts, they recently received a request to help transport a large shipment of Cell Medals to the Kogami Foundation from one of their satellite research centers. Kogami offered them half in exchange. They said they'll contact us if they need backup, but really, I don't expect it to be necessary."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a different restaurant, Junko was meeting with a Foundation X representative. "So you need my assistance in retrieving these Cell Medals." The agent nodded. "By using Dr. Maki's notes, we believe we can use the Cell Medals to reverse engineer the process to create Core Medals. It won't be easy, however, due to Kogami using the Greeed to transport the Medals." Junko raised an eyebrow. "And these Greeed are the source of OOO's power." "Just the opposite," the agent admitted, "But a study of their abilities can give you further insight into OOO's abilities."

"Very well," Junko said, "If it can help further my own plans I'm not opposed to the idea. But I'll need a truly special Despair for this to work. Every Despair I've created thus far has proven useless against the Kamen Riders, and if the Greeed have abilities similar to OOO I don't plan on repeating past mistakes." She looked her list of potentials and finally hit on one. "Ah, this year's Ultimate Lucky Student, Nagito Komaeda." The agent raised an eyebrow. "This year's?" "Some silly experiment by the academy," Junko explained, "Every year they hold a lottery that let's an ordinary student become an Ultimate, referred to as the Ultimate Lucky Student. But Nagito has exceptional luck even for such a lottery winner. He'll be perfect."

* * *

Near the industrial district of the city, a large delivery truck was driving through the streets towards the Kogami Foundation. Driving the truck was Ankh, in his true Greeed form. Sitting next to him was Kazari, his legs propped up against the dashboard. In the back, ready to pop out in case of trouble, were Uva, Gamel, and Mezool. "You really think someone would be stupid enough to try and steal these Medals?," Kazari asked, "Most humans don't know their importance, and those that do know how powerful we are." "Foundation X is crafty," Ankh replied, "No doubt they'll be sending Dark to do their dirty work."

"Well, it shouldn't pose too big a threat," the feline Greeed said with a shrug, "Of course if it does, we have Hajime on speed-dial. Hopefully we can get this job done, and then I can enjoy that new sushi parlor that opened up." Ankh chuckled. "You've really been just enjoying yourself ever since we swore loyalty to Hajime." "That's 'cause he taught me the reality of my desire," Kazari admitted, "I always thought that I had to takeover everything to grasp my dream of experiencing the world and all that it entails. But then Hajime taught me to take a step back, and simply experience the world by simply living. Most of us seemed to make the mistake of focusing too hard on our desires, don't you agree?"

Ankh nodded. "Perhaps we should have taken a lesson from Gamel. Out of all of us, he is the one most in tune with his desires." His head then jerked forward as he hit the brakes. Standing before them was another Despair monster. Uva and Gamel, concerned, hopped out of the back while Mezool stayed inside. "Looks like we're having trouble after all," Kazari noted. Uva simply multiplied himself to surround the van while Gamel moved in to deal with the threat, Kazari joining him. However, most of their attacks didn't seem to properly connect, and the ones that did didn't seem to deal much damage.

Dark was standing nearby, trying to find an opening while keeping one eye on the fight. _'Doesn't look like I can get too close. The insect one seems to have surrounded the van by himself. And if his power is similar to OOO's Gatakiriba form, trying to approach from above is useless. This will take me some time, but I should have plenty.'_ Suddenly, one of Gamel's heavy punches sent the Luck's Despair sprawling. Kazari, who had been observant during the fight, rubbed his chin, "Interesting, so that's how it works." "Kazari," Gamel said, "We finally hit him." "Yes," Kazari said, "And I think I know why. See the gauge on the Despair's chest?"

Gamel looked as the Despair rose. The gauge had a number seven on the right side and a number 13 on the left side. And right now, the colored meter on the gauge was just above the thirteen. Gamel, simple as he was, understood what that meant. "So, his power is based on pure luck." "Right," Kazari said, "So long as the gauge is filled his luck is so strong he can't be properly damaged. But once it empties, there's a window of time when he's vulnerable. Ankh, contact the Riders. This one will need special attention." The two Greeed poured on as much damage as they could while Ankh contacted Hajime.

* * *

Of course, it wasn't that easy. Dark had taken the time to create some more Trash Yummies to stall the Kamen Riders, who were all busy cleaning them out of the residential district. When OOO got the call from Ankh, he cursed. "Of all the times. Battalion, some breathing room!" He swapped out Medals while Battalion switched heads. _**"Mode: Panzer!"**_ _**"Kuwagata! Tora! Batta!"**_ Several Trash were destroyed by the combined attacks, clearing plenty of space. "OOO," Decade said, "We can handle these guys. Hurry and deal with the transport."

OOO nodded, and motioned for Battalion to follow him. Battalion switched to his fourth and final head while OOO brought his speed combo. _**"Mode: Jager!"**_ _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!"**_ They sped off at incredible speeds, soon reaching the van in the nearby district. Battalion took a good swipe at the Luck's Despair, easily smacking him to the ground. Unfortunately, that was enough to restore his gauge. "Well that stinks," Kazari noted, "OOO, this one has a luck gauge. Until the meter reaches the thirteen it can't be damaged."

"Alright," OOO said, "Battalion, think you can wear it down?" "All on it," Battalion bragged. _**"Mode: Panzer!"**_ _**"Lion! Tora! Zou!"**_ As Battalion fired off a salvo in an effort to bring down the Despair's gauge, Dark decided to make a quick escape. _'Unfortunately it seems these Greeed had all their bases covered.'_ She jostled as OOO used the Zou Medal to shake the ground, completely draining the Luck Despair's gauge. Ankh spotted her leaving but chose not to give chase. _'There will be another chance to capture her.'_

Meanwhile OOO readied another combo. "Time to get Nagito back." _**"Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... Sa-Go-Zo!"**_ "Better make it in one shot while it's vulnerable," Battalion noted. OOO nodded. "Right. Then we'll end it here." He swiped his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ Luck's Despair was helpless as OOO smashed into the ground hard enough to trap the creature inside it and drag towards him. "Sagozo Impact!" The resulting Charge did raise Luck Despair's gauge, but enough to prevent him from being destroyed. Kazari smiled as he looked at the Medals. "Perfect. Kogami said it's alright to claim the full bounty from any Despair Dark happens to unleash."

* * *

Mikan smiled as Nagito opened his eyes. "Good you're awake," she said, "How are you feeling?" "Surprisingly good," Nagito said, "Despite being used for such despair, I still realized something as I heard the voices quiet down." He closed his eyes. "Thanks to Hajime, I think I've found something stronger than even hope. For what good is hope without the desire to see it through. That's something I'd been missing for the longest time." Mikan smiled sheepishly. "Well, you seem to have recovered completely. Just take it easy for a while, you might still be a little weak from all this." Nagito nodded.

* * *

In the time of Tragedy, Nagito found himself in a peculiar situation. He had become a member of Future Foundation, and used his luck to spy on the Warriors of Hope. Later, he found himself caught up in the Island Killing Game. After winning the highest difficulty level of Russian Roulette, he found himself in possession of the files pertaining to his class. "But there's nothing here I didn't already know," he mused, "If that bear thought he could drive me to kill with this..." Nagito had wanted something that could help extricate him and the others from the game.

Luckily, that had arrived naturally in the end due to the time limit imposed on the New World Program. The friends they had lost were restored thanks to studying of the equipment, and the world seemed to be returning to its natural state. Nagito looked on as Hope's Peak Academy was rebuilt. _'It's funny. I had always wanted to find the Ultimate Hope. But now I realize that there is something even stronger. And before I could even look for it, and without even trying, what I found was the Ultimate Desire. Hajime Hinata, the God of Desire. I'm sure even now he's continuing to protect the world.'_

To be continued...

 **There was one fic I wrote where I had Nagito killed off and I got mobbed by rabid Nagito fans. Now I've done the exact opposite... And I get the feeling I'll still be mobbed, but for a different reason. Read and review.**


	16. Chapter 16: Princess

**I'm back. Yeah, I like taking the occasional break to get food and such. Plus writing these chapters out is tiring. At any rate, we'll be having a new Kamen Rider today. I'm sure you OOO fans are wondering when Birth is showing up. Patience my friends, only patience. Also, one of my biggest readers, amosclw, has provided me with a unique opportunity. He had a manuscript filled with ideas that he wanted adopted for a new story. No one bit, so he came to me. I requested using many of the ideas in this story, and he accepted. Thanks to him, plenty of holes in future chapters have been filled. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 16: Crystals, a Princess, and Sisterhood

The students of Hope's Peak Academy were looking in interest as a large vehicle bearing the flag of Novoselic, Sonia's home country, pulled up to the main courtyard. Said Ultimate Princess was rushing over to see who could have arrived. Out of the vehicle stepped a rather militaristic looking man with a gruff appearance. "General Cobain," Sonia said, "What brings you here?" "Your father has become aware of the situation growing in this country," Cobain said. Seeing the worried look on the princess's face, he gave a warm smile. "Fear not, he's not about to call you back home. Instead, he's sending you something we never thought you'd need here."

Sonia's classmates looked at the briefcase Cobain handed to her, which caused the young woman's eyes to light up. "Wonderful! With this device, Gold will work to defend the people once more!" The others looked at her funny. "Uh...," Hajime started, "What exactly is 'Gold'?" Sonia seemed to be even more on fire. "I suppose you could say it's Novoselic's equivalent of a Kamen Rider. A legendary device of mysterious origin, used by women in the Royal Family for generations. However, for some reason it can never be used by a virgin, so-"

"Hold on!," Kazuichi interjected, "Did you sleep with some random guy just for this!?" "Hardly," Sonia retorted, understandably miffed, "It is against our laws to do such things before marriage. Rather, I applied a certain device to remove my virginity." Her classmates looked at her blankly. "Yeah, Sonia?," Hiyoko spoke up, "In this country, removing one's hymen doesn't prevent one from being a virgin." Sonia blinked. "Are you sure? I've been able to use the device ever since then." Chisa clapped her hands together. "Well, I suppose we are dealing with a different culture here."

* * *

The Foundation X agent, known only as G, spoke with his superiors over a vid-link. "I'm sorry to report Junko's failure in regards to retrieving the transport." 'It is of no consequence,' said Neon Ulsland, the leader of Foundation X, 'We already possess enough Cell Medals to refine Dr. Maki's work, thanks to the destroyed Despair monsters. Our only concern was studying the mysterious bio-machine that seems to be secretly attached to Miss Enoshima, and how it influences her mind.' "Indeed," G said with a bow, "Our scans show the machine is capable of self-replication, and the spawn are directed to attach to other hosts. Usually those who suffer from depression in some form or another."

'Despair certainly seems to be a running theme with that woman,' Neon noted, 'Though the machine clearly has limits. While evidence suggests it has pushed Miss Enoshima's mental capacity to new heights, her physical capabilities have not improved beyond what the Core Medals can provide. Her fighting style is basic, lacking in strength, and she relies too much on the special powers the Black Medals provide her.' "I'll look into the origin of this machine," G offered, "Find out if it is sentient, and if so what it's goals are. Thanks to Junko being selected by Hope's Peak Academy Steering Committee, getting access shouldn't be an issue." Neon suddenly hit the button on a stopwatch she was holding. 'Proceed then. We'll take more later.'

* * *

"WONDERFUL!," Kogami called out when Hajime told him about Sonia's decision to join the growing ranks of the Kamen Riders, "I knew we could count on Novoselic's aid, seeing as how their Crown Princess was attending your academy. With another Kamen Rider, we have more defenders for when the worst happens." Hajime raised an eyebrow. "What worst?" Kogami folded his hands in front of his waist. "Some time before you gained the power of OOO, I was visited by mysterious creatures called the Imagin. They claimed to have come from the future, and wished to mitigate a terrible tragedy."

He sat down at his desk and opened a file, turning the monitor around so that Hajime could read it. "They were quite detailed about how this tragedy is to come about," Kogami said, "And while circumstances are different, now that Foundation X is involved, I fear this worldwide devastation is inevitable. But now, it will not be an ending, but a chance for the world to begin anew. However, in order for the people to desire such rebirth, they need heroes to show them the way!" Hajime nodded. "Hence the Kamen Riders." Kogami pointed to his teenaged friend. "One god to bring faith to the people, and a group of apostles to spread the word. It's almost biblical in its scope."

* * *

"Do you really think that is the reason?," Sonia asked of Akane. The two were training with their individual systems, and Akane had noticed how mobile Sonia was. "Definitely," Akane said with a nod, "I remember the first time I tried a more complex gymnastic routine. I had to stop halfway because of a severe sharp pain going through my legs. When the physician checked me out, it turned out the routine had caused my hymen to tear. Happens all the time with female athletes. Let's face it, how effective would you be as Kamen Rider Gold if you suffered pain without any apparent injury in your very first battle?"

"Now this is why I enjoy visiting other countries!," Sonia said, her eyes practically shining, "Getting an outsider's perspective on our culture is a great way to explain the reasons behind them!" Just then, a general alert went off. When Sonia looked at the monitors showing the oncoming threat, she gasped. "How did one survive?" "How did what survive?," Akane asked. "Fenrir," Sonia explained, "A mercenary organization based out of the Middle East. Prior to my arrival in Japan, Fenrir attempted to aid a rebellion in our country."

Akane was confused. "But doesn't the government of Novoselic favor its people?" "Indeed," Sonia said sadly, "But because of our country's small size, we are largely a militaristic nation. Such a nation will always have someone who dislikes such a way of doing things." Akane sighed. "So they chose to overthrow you by sending in foreign mercs. Talk about hypocrisy." Sonia nodded. "I had thought them done when I defeated their leader, but it seems at least one of them is still active. But it is not someone I recognize. This can work to our advantage."

* * *

The young soldier smirked as she operated the mech suit. It wouldn't be long before she got the attention of her group's enemy. However, she wasn't expecting a while group of people to show up. _"I see,"_ the soldier said through the suit's mic, _"I was told there would be several Kamen Riders."_ Hajime raised a hand in the air. "Team!" "Henshin!" _**"All Magic!"**_ _**"Mode: Liger!"**_ _**"Skull!"**_ _**"Chu!"**_ _**"Mighty Form!"**_ _**"Style: Avian!"**_ _**"Kamen Ride! Decade!"**_ _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ "WE ARE KAMEN RIDERS!"

At first the young soldier stood there, stunned, then suddenly shouted, _"WHY ON EARTH DID I WAIT UNTIL YOU GUYS WERE FINISHED!?"_ She immediately rushed at the group, zeroing in on Gold. _"I've learned about you from my teachers. Your system gives you seven unique powers. Increased strength, speed, and defense. Conjuring duplicates, energy beams, and crystal shards. And the power to fly. However, did you know that the rebels who originally hired Fenrir studied the full extent of these powers? My suit was designed to edge you out in overall skill."_

She threw a solid punch Gold's way. Unfazed, Gold called out, "Kuuga!" She then pressed one of the gems on her driver. _**"Amber Magic!"**_ _**"Titan Form!"**_ The two riders, Gold now having orange highlights on her white jumpsuit, easily blocked the punch, surprising the Fenrir soldier. "One thing they didn't know," Gold noted, "I can use the crystals on my driver to focus purely on one of my magics." She threw aside the punch. "Skull!" _**"Emerald Magic!"**_ _**"Skull-Ice!"**_ Far from conjuring mere shards, focusing on the Emerald Magic let Gold conjure crystal constructs, which Skull complimented with his ice manipulation, forcing the Fenrir back.

"Kivala!" _**"Sapphire Magic!"**_ _**"Ghost Bow!"**_ The series of powerful energy blasts kept knocking back the Fenrir. But the group wasn't done yet, and neither was Gold. "Battalion!" _**"Amethyst Magic!"**_ _**"Mode: Jager!"**_ Racing at unthinkable speeds, the two Riders struck Fenrir hard, causing her to spin in mid-air. "Decade!" _**"Topaz Magic!"**_ _**"Sentai Ride! Abaranger!"**_ _**"Attack Ride! Tyranno Rod!"**_ The two super-strong Riders hit with a barrage of blows while Fenrir was still in mid-air. "Core," Gold called out, "I'll knock her down to you!" _**"Cobalt Magic!"**_ A set of blue eagle wings manifested on Gold as she took to the air.

The supersonic flight let Gold slam into the Fenrir and sent her careening towards Core, who shifted his own Driver. _**"Style: Mammalian!"**_ Core then charged up as the image of a rhino manifested. "Rhino Charge!" The massive punch slammed into Fenrir and sent her careening. The soldier got up, surprised at this development. "So," OOO said as he approached Gold, "Shall we end it?" "Indeed," Gold said with a nod. _**"Ruby Magic!"**_ _**"Kuwagata! Kamakiri! Batta! Ga~ta-Gata-Gata-Kiri, Ba! Gatakiriba!"**_ "You should know something," Gold noted to the soldier, "Ordinarily the duplicates I summon are mere illusions, as I'm sure you know. But when I focus on the Ruby Magic, they become full constructs."

She and OOO summoned three extra clones each, as OOO got out a few more Medals. "And the Gatakiriba Combo offers a unique power that labels it as the Strongest Combo!" He tossed several sets to his copies while keeping one set for himself. With the exception of one clone, which stayed in Gatakiriba form, the clones applied the Medals. _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!"**_ _**"Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... Sa-Go-Zo!"**_ OOO then used the final set on himself. _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

Now truly mobbed, the young woman realized she had bitten off more than she could chew. Inside her cockpit, she hit a few buttons. Clearly she was gonna need help and she knew where to get it. And a good thing too, because now all eight Riders were surrounding her in their standard mode. Each ready with their signature Rider Kick. "Rainbow Shining!" "Savage Pounce!" "Skull Banisher!" "New Moon Breaker!" "Mighty Kick!" "Dimension Kick!" "Eagle Dive!" "Tatoba Kick!" The machine the soldier was in was destroyed, but OOO spotted the woman ejecting from the suit. "Interesting. She doesn't look much older than us."

* * *

Junko looked at the internet video showing the fight between the Kamen Riders and the taller mechs. "Interesting," Junko said aloud, "Whoever was piloting that mech would be of good use under the right circumstances." "Would said circumstances include being a family member?," came a familiar voice from behind her. Junko whirled around and beamed. Standing there was her twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba. The two sisters embraced before Junko made an attempt to crush Mukuro's spine, only to get headbutted away. "Nice try sis," Mukuro said, "I appreciate the genuine attempt, but I've spent years learning combat tactics with Fenrir."

"So that's what happened to you," Junko noted, "Mom and Dad really got worried you know. Me too in fact." "That's good," Mukuro said as she sat down, "Our parents finally get married while I was gone?" Junko sighed and shook her head. "The most they've gotten is they actually moved in together. So, how did it feel taking on all those Riders?" "Overwhelming," Mukuro admitted, "And my teachers for some reason skipped the lesson on Kamen Rider Gold being able to focus her magic." She looked at her sister. "I wouldn't mind having some help in this case." Junko smirked. "Mukuro, you took the words right out of my mouth."

* * *

In the time of The Tragedy, Sonia was informed of the fall of her country. She vowed to one day restore her kingdom, but until then she used the power of Kamen Rider Gold to protect people. She was upset when Gundham was seemingly executed inside the New World Program, but grateful when it turned out to only be a simulation. After The Tragedy was finally ended, she worked to slowly rebuild her country, working with the people to bring about true peace. "No country is built in a single day. But I'm sure in time Novoselic will return to its former jeweled splendor."

To be continued...

 **The two sisters have reunited and are now ready to start working together. And next time things will get really crazy. Read and review.**


	17. Chapter 17: Breeding

**With what I've been hearing from my followers lately, it sounds like things are getting crazy out there. I'm live an isolated lifestyle so my knowledge of everything is limited at best. But just to show that I am still alive, here's another chapter, with a crazy twist. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 17: An Experiment, Breeding, and the Twin Despair

"So now we have eight Kamen Riders riding our asses," Junko noted. "And so long as they're around your plans are at a stand-still," Mukuro replied. Junko shrugged. "Yes and no. When a Despair is destroyed, the host's mind is changed in such a way that I can no longer properly predict it. Such a phenomenon certainly throws sand in the gears. I've been trying to find Ultimates that can make the best Despairs to fight them, but my options are limited." Mukuro raised an eyebrow. "Does it really need to be Ultimates?" "Surprisingly yes," Junko replied, "And they need to have been labelled as such by the academy. Believe me, I've already done the research."

The soldier nodded, then came up with something. "Then, do we need to do this one at a time?" That caused Junko's eyes to shoot up. "I see... I've never tried making more than one. But each Despair requires one Black Medal, and I can only make one at time from the three I use to become Dark." She clasped her hands. "Beyond that, I'd hate to do anything that might improve Foundation X's research. I'm only working with them out of convenience." She then got a brainstorm. "Of course, if we could get something out of it for ourselves..." Mukuro smiled warmly at the sound of "we".

* * *

As the 77th class enjoyed some down-time between their studies, Chisa met with Kyosuke and Juzo. "I kinda got the whole story from Hajime," Chisa said, "Did you really confess to having a gay crush on my boyfriend?" Kyosuke had been emboldened by their recent successes against Armored Rider Dark, to the point where he took Chisa out on their first date, where he learned Chisa shared his feelings. They became official shortly thereafter. Which made it even more awkward when Chisa learned about Juzo's feelings towards Kyosuke. "Honestly, the entire time I thought you were crushing on me," Chisa noted.

Juzo shrugged. "If you guys can shift topics for a while," Kazuichi said as he approached. "Right," Kyosuke said, "Back to our earlier topic. The Greeed have been expanding throughout the academy, to the point where there's only a few pockets of students they haven't touched. This class being one of them. In fact, only Fuyuhiko has played host to a Yummy so far." "The fact that several of them have already played host to a destroyed Despair almost moots it," Juzo noted, "But the majority of the class is still at risk. What I really want to know is what Dark's endgame is. What is she trying to accomplish?" "Gotta be something major," Kazuichi said, "I have a theory that everything she's been dong thus far is researching for some big event or other."

"Perhaps that catastrophe Kogami was warned about," Kyosuke realized, "Dark could potentially be the instigator." "Just don't push yourselves too far," Chisa said, "I'm not entirely sure how I feel about my own students placing themselves in danger, even for the sake of others. I really worry, about all of you." She looked over to the others, where Hajime was showing off his best run of a game he and Chiaki bonded over. Seeing the smiles on their faces brought a smile to Chisa's own face. "Still, knowing that some of you will be protecting the smiles of others... I think that would be worth it."

* * *

G met in secret with Junko and Mukuro some time later. "Is this the soldier you were speaking of?," G asked, "She barely looks older than you." "Looks can deceive," Junko admitted, "Take me for example. Would you normally expect someone like me to have a brilliant analytical mind." G conceded with a nod. "I've spoken with my superiors, and they have accepted your terms for further research material." He motioned to a nearby black van, from which several more Foundation X members brought a briefcase. They handed it to Mukuro, who opened it and looked inside. She smiled when she saw the device.

"It wasn't easy to produce in the short time span you gave us," G noted, "I hope the research you provide will be worth it." "Just a little experiment," Junko admitted, "I wanna try making two Despairs instead of one. But to do that, I'll need to use one of my normal Medals for transforming, in addition to the one I craft. Now, you've noticed how I like to be close to my work, but for this experiment that's not an option. The Kamen Riders already suspect my involvement, of that I'm positive, so observing without the benefit of my armor is not a good idea." "And that's were I come in," Mukuro said as she put on the Driver, "Hope your tech department is reliable. Sis will kill you if I die by any hand other than her's."

* * *

The Riders got the alert shortly afterward, with Sonia, Akane, and Hajime rushing to the scene. There, they found another armored figure, which looked like a slimmed-down version of the mech they battled before. _"Nice to see you,"_ the figure said, _"Armored Rider Fenrir, at your service. I apologize for the earlier sloppy performance. Such a bulky mech combined with limited knowledge of my opponents... I was really off my game."_ "Then you're the same soldier we fought earlier," Akane noted, "Are you working with Dark?"

Fenrir seemed to pause. _"Wow... Wasn't expecting you to have a brain. Dark's informed me of your histories, but I'd say they require updating."_ "For a soldier you talk a great deal," Sonia noted, "Let us promptly shut her up. Henshin!" "Henshin!" _**"Chu!"**_ _**"All Magic!"**_ _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ Fenrir scoffed. _"As much of a pragmatist as I am, I appreciate the honor of a fair fight. Come out, Breeder's Despair! Team Manager's Despair!"_ The two creatures appeared, one bulkier than the other. Gold gasped. "Breeder's Despair... You got to Gundham?" "And Coach Nekomaru too," Kivala said angrily, "Way to make it personal."

The two female Riders nodded to each other, and then promptly charged at the two Despairs. _**"Goblin Sword!"**_ _**"Amethyst Magic!"**_ Gold dodged around Breeder's Despair, striking when the chance to appeared. Meanwhile, Team Manager's Despair's bulk and reliance on striking put it at a disadvantage against Kivala's nimble swordplay. As Fenrir got ready to face OOO, he shocked her by launching a few wind-based blades in her direction from his Tora Medal power. _"What on Earth...?"_ "You're dealing with tokusatsu-style heroes," OOO chastised, "Did you really expect conventional techniques?"

He swapped out Medals to prove his point. _**"Taka! Gorilla! Batta!"**_ Now armed with the Gorilla Medals massive fists, which he again surprised Fenrir by firing like missiles. _"Note to self, get suit modified at earliest convenience."_ Her thoughts were interrupted by OOO clocking her with a massive uppercut. Meanwhile, Team Manager's Despair had managed to escape by burrowing underground. Breeder's Despair, however, was not so lucky, as Gold had returned to her standard form and overcharged her Driver. "Rainbow Shining!" The kick struck the Despair and caused it to explode into Medals. Fenrir took this as her cue to leave, and fired off a grapple shot that took her away from the action.

* * *

Gundham was forever changed because of that event, which had an effect in the time of The Tragedy. During an event when he and his classmates were trapped inside a funhouse during the Island Killing Game, Gundham suddenly had a revelation when he entered the Final Dead Room. The true orientation of the funhouse let Gundham discover where the exit was, letting the students out. Once the door opened, the Robotic Nekomaru exploded. Turns out it was because it's purpose, to kill one of the students within the funhouse, had failed and it executed a self-destruction, causing the trial to be labelled as suicide.

Upon being freed from the simulation, and the real Nekomaru returning, Gundham was offered a place beside Sonia as she worked to restore her country. Gundham, though flustered at the genuine offer, accepted. In addition, he used his contacts in the veterinary world to asses the damage done to the wildlife, and set about correcting it. "I have seen the worst pits of darkness, and greatest of lights. Now I seek to dwell in-between, in that twilight. The great beasts that walk this Earth can now rest at ease, for the great Gundham Tanaka stands ready to reverse the extinction!"

To be continued...

 **Bit of a cliff-hanger, peek into the future aside, but I wanted it that way. We'll deal with the other Despair next chapter. Read and review.**


	18. Chapter 18: Management

**Now to resolve the cliffhanger. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 18: Emotions, Management, and a Surprising Finisher

Sonia returned to see Gundham recovering, though Nekomaru was still under due the Team Manager's Despair still being active. She walked over to Gundham. "Are you feeling better?" "A little," Gundham noted, "There are some darknesses too deep for even I. Such a darkness nearly consumed me. I am grateful for the brilliance you displayed to release me." Sonia giggled. "Always so eloquent. Perhaps that, plus my natural curiosity about the occult, is what made me fall for you." Gundham looked surprised as Sonia planted a chaste kiss on his lips.

* * *

"Are you sure this is gonna keep us from being spotted so easily?," Junko asked. Mukuro, having gotten her learner's permit to drive, was transporting their equipment, plus the Despair, across the city. "You said you kept getting spotted by social medias," Mukuro noted, "So we need to increase our chances of success somehow. We drive to areas that are heavily populated and let the monster run loose. You said it needs to be active to burn through the Medals, right?" Junko nodded. "You could call these things ice cream pops without the stick. Them standing still is the equivalent of sticking them in the freezer. Still, this way of doing things is gonna be slow."

"Slow but safe," Mukuro argued, "These Kamen Riders are too skilled for a direct confrontation. OOO blind-sided me with his techniques, while Gold proved to have a few tricks I wasn't privy too. Plus they're strong mentally too. Your normal methods of manipulation will just fall on deaf ears." Mukuro was no fool, and Junko knew it. She knew how Junko could manipulate people, and the only reason she allowed herself to be manipulated was due to their sisterly bond. Many could be forgiven for thinking Junko was sociopathic, but it was the exact opposite.

"I understand the need for doing things differently," Junko admitted, "But at the same time..." "You get bored easily, right?," Mukuro said with a snicker, "But we still don't know everything about these Kamen Riders." Junko had to admit that was true. While some of them had displayed what she assumed was all their forms, not all of them had. Plus not all of them showcased their finishing moves to the fullest. Junko then noticed something in the side mirror. "I know one thing about them. They're very good at adaptation." She pointed out the Taka Candroid that seemed to be following them.

"What are those things?," Mukuro asked. "No clue," Junko asked, "But I've seen them in a folded-up can form stocked inside some new vending machines." As the Candroid turned around, Junko sighed. "I wonder if I shouldn't consider returning to my old hair color." "I'm still hung up on how long you've stuck to one personality for so long," Mukuro noted. Junko actually laughed. "Yeah, I can't afford to be my normal, swap personality at a mile a minute self. If I don't stay focused, I'll get steamrolled. Anyway, we may as well stop here and wait."

* * *

Back at the academy, the same Taka Candroid returned to Hajime. "Looks like we've got their direction," he said to Kyosuke and Akane, "Keep sharp. They'll be expecting us." Akane clenched her fist. _'I'm not about to let Coach Nekomaru fall to despair. Not when I still need to explain my own feelings for him.'_ The trio got to their Ridevendors. After triggering their bike mode, Akane chuckled. "Hey Hajime. Is it prerequisite for Kamen Riders to have motorbikes?" Hajime shrugged. "Don't know. I only know of a few Kamen Riders outside our group." Akane smiled. "Henshin!"

* * *

The first thing that caught Fenrir off-guard was when she heard something call out, _**"Attack Ride! Slash!"**_ She just barely got out of the way of the first slash, but Decade was fast and able to get in a few hits. He then turned around to block an attack from Dark, while OOO took over dealing with Fenrir. The Team Manager's Despair tried to intervene, only to get slashed from behind by Kivala's Goblin Sword. "You always seem to be targeting Ultimates," Decade noted, "What are your goals exactly? Or are you just doing this for some petty despair fix?"

 _"I think you hit the nail on the head there,"_ Dark said as she split from the clash she and Decade had, _"Succumbing to despair is such an easy thing to do."_ "Funny," Decade noted, "Because you seem to be working hard at it. After all, people don't succumb to despair so easily unless outside forces cause them to." He got out another card. _**"Sentai Ride! Shinkenger!"**_ Decade clashed with Dark's Kani Claws using his Shinkenmaru, striking her several times. He then slotted in another card. _**"Attack Ride! Spiral Sword!"**_ A red Secret Disk manifested, which Decade slid into the hilt of the Shinkenmaru, which he then spin. The resulting flame slash blasted through Dark.

Meanwhile, OOO was tangling with Fenrir. Fenrir seemed to have a soldier's instincts, but OOO had the advantage with his base Multi Combo, the Tatoba, which provided him with enhanced senses and increases jumping ability. Plus his Tora Claws were not only powerful weapons, but could channel wind. Fenrir quickly went for her sidearm and started blasting. As OOO dodged around the shots, he swapped out his Medals. _**"Taka! Unagi! Cheetah!"**_ Now armed with twin electric whips, OOO lashed one out so that it wrapped around Fenrir's gun, yanking it out of her hand.

He then made several high speed runs, whipping Fenrir with each pass before knocking her towards where Dark was. Decade quickly took advantage of this. _**"Final Attack Ride! S-S-S-Shinkenger!"**_ The card manifested the Rekka Daizantou, an ornate zanbato, as well as the rest of the Shinkenger team. Decade placed an orange Disk on the Daizantou, causing it to swap to a cannon-like mode, which the Shinkenger constructs placed their disks into. As Decade pulled the trigger, he called out, "Kabuto Five Rings Bullet!" Fenrir quickly got up to take the brunt of the attack, though both of them still got thrown backward, forcing them to retreat.

Meanwhile, Kivala had been busy attacking the Despair. Having finally got it on the ropes, she activated another fuestle. _**"Gigant Axe!"**_ Kivala charged energy into the axe before leaping into the air and bringing the wide blade down on the Team Manager's Despair. "Colossus Rhodes!" The attack seemed to slash the monster in two before it exploded into Medals. The other two Riders joined her. "Colossus Rhodes?," Decade asked. "Hey, I admit I'm not the smartest," Kivala noted, "But I do pay attention. When I read something about the Colossus of Rhodes during one of OOO's study sessions, I noted how similar it likely was to the Gigant race." She started heading back to her bike. "Now let's go. I'm eager to greet Coach."

* * *

Nekomaru was laughing at how Akane had gone to town on the creature. "Guess it's a good thing these monsters seem to be weaker than the people they're made from!" He smiled at Akane. "And I'm grateful you'd go to such big lengths." Akane grinned. "Well, for someone I've come to care about, it was really no big deal." Nekomaru visibly blushed as he was caught off-guard, earning him a good-natured jab in the ribs. "Well, next time we have a real battle, maybe I'll use my new powers and see how that stacks up to ya." Nekomaru nodded. "Looking forward to it." The rest of the class smiled at the two of them.

* * *

During the time of the Tragedy, at the site of the Island Killing Game, events changed that prevented Nekomaru's supposed cyberization. Akane had still challenged Monokuma, but did not fight against him. When Monokuma tried to have Akane executed for her actions, she questioned how she broke the rules. Monokuma's claim that she deliberately attacked the headmaster were met with rebuttal, as Akane was careful to not attack once during the challenge, sticking strictly to defense. Nekomaru then noted that executing Akane under those circumstances would make Monokuma the rule-breaker, since the rules only prohibited physical violence against the headmaster, implying all other forms of standing up to authority were acceptable.

Further, Usami's original rules stated that the headmaster was only allowed to interfere with the students in the event a rule was broken. Under these circumstances, Monokuma was forced to back down. This meant Nekomaru never got seriously injured and was able to participate in the third and ultimately final trial, his input actually making things a lot easier in finding out who the killer there was. With the 77th class restored, Nekomaru and Akane continued to live together, Nekomaru inspiring a return of all kinds of sports. He would continue to help young athletes reach their dreams, as was his nature. "This world needs dreams to stay alive. So I'll work to restore as many as I can."

To be continued...

 **Well, another two-parter dealt with. I hope I'm getting these along at a good clip. I'll see to getting the next chapter out ASAP. Read and review.**


	19. Chapter 19: Neurology

**Finally getting a chance to get back to this. We're introducing a new Kamen Rider here, and things are gonna get pretty interesting as a result. Especially since the character in question never even lived to see the Tragedy. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 19: Imagin, Neurology, and the Rider Duel

Goto entered Kogami office and took a quick bow. "Sir. It appears our mole in the academy is ready for his debut. As for the Den-Liner..." A sudden train horn could be heard right outside the building. "It has arrived on schedule," Goto finished with a smile. "WONDERFUL!," Kogami announced, "Our operation is ready to move into it's next phase. By continuing to evolve our strategies, we can keep ahead of both Dark and the newly created Armored Rider Fenrir." Goto noted the birthday cake with Fenrir's name on it with amusement.

"There is one thing," Goto noted, "The man in question wants to test OOO's skills. He seems to have some knowledge regarding the coming event and whoever is behind it. He needs to know that Hajime has the strength to avoid falling into a serious trap." Kogami nodded. "So be it then. That desire of his shall carry on into a new birth. Inform Hajime at once." Goto nodded and bowed before leaving. Kogami looked out to see a large bullet train somehow parked right outside the building, yet somehow it didn't seem to interfere with anyone's daily routine, some even visibly walking through it without a care.

* * *

"Your plan hinges on Yasuke's research?," Mukuro asked in surprise. Junko nodded in confirmation. "His knowledge of neurology is on the cutting edge. Small wonder he was made Hope's Peak Academy's Ultimate Neurologist. Thing is, his process is so advanced even my mind needs his words to make sense of it. That's how good he is, and why I fell for him..." "Doesn't hurt that he's a total hottie," Mukuro snarked, and promptly blocked a swing from a baseball bat Junko has nearby. "I know, I know," Mukuro said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll find my own man."

"Glad we understand each other," Junko noted. She always took any relationship she had seriously, be it friend, family, or lover. And while she was okay with other women casually talking with Yasuke, flirtation would be met with swift punishment. "Anyway, back on track," Junko said, having calmed down, "There's two key pieces of info we need for this to work. First, Yasuke has been developing a means to perform seamless lobotomy." "Seamless?," Mukuro asked, "As in not needing to dig into the skull to perform the lobotomy?"

"Bingo," Junko replied with a smile, "The typical means of lobotomy, ethanol injection, circular lesions, various tools and implements that deliberately induce brain damage in an effort to cure mental illnesses. However, Yasuke has been developing a means to bypass all of that. The way he talks about it, it involves electrical impulses through the brain designed to isolate certain neurons, targeting the ones that specifically result in the mental disorder. However, it could also be used to alter a person's personality, since even this form of lobotomy involves the frontal lobe."

Mukuro nodded, understanding. "Thus making them more susceptible to our way of thinking." "In theory," Junko noted, "Though this recent incident with how the destruction of a Despair effects its host means I'll need to experiment a little once I've learned the procedure. I have a good idea on how the experiment will work, but it's useless unless we can get Yasuke's cooperation. The second procedure we'll be able to use regardless of recent developments. You know all those different cases of PTSD and other traumatic experiences?"

"Sure," Mukuro said with a nod, "Happens to the best of us." "Well Yasuke's been refining a means of memory alteration," Junko noted, "Imagine, a neurosurgery that could completely remove an entire segment of your memory." "Sounds scary," Mukuro murmured. Junko shrugged. "It would be, if the memory was removed up until the point of the procedure. But less so if the memory removed was from months, even years ago. Of course, for my plan erasing all memory up to the moment of the procedure is the point."

"Sounds like you have it all planned out," Mukuro noted. Junko nodded, but sighed. "Just one hitch. I haven't been in contact with Yasuke since I first got the Black Medals. Not for lack of trying either. I've literally called him every evening. I know he's still alive, the death of a world-renowned neurologist would be broadcast on the news after all, so I'm confused as to what the problem is." Mukuro shrugged. "Yasuke's a smart guy. Maybe he's already realized you're planning something and trying to keep his knowledge out of your hands." "Maybe," Junko said, "But knowing him, I'd think it more likely that he'd try taking advantage of my intentions to turn me away from the path I've chosen. So this recent silence is confusing me."

* * *

Hajime soon arrived at the site where the challenge he was issued was supposed to be held. There he met a young man his own age, lounging about and reading a book. "You must be Hajime Hinata," the man said, "The one promoted to Ultimate Kamen Rider. Rather fitting, considering your diverse move pool. But I fear you suffer from the same problem presented in Aesop's Fable of The Fox and The Cat." He looked at Hajime. "I'm Yasuke Matsuda, by the way. Hope's Peak Academy's Ultimate Neurologist." "Yeah I know," Hajime noted, "We're in the year, but not the same class."

"Unlike most schools, Hope's Peak Academy normally only has one class per year," Yasuke noted, "Sixteen students each. But for the 77th class, a good thirty-two candidates were scouted. The Steering Committee was surprised, but didn't want to miss out on the chance to study any of them. So the class was split into two separate classes." He got up and brought out a Driver. "I'm here to see if you really have enough skill... To overturn fate." Hajime smirked, then got out his own Driver and slotted in his Medals. _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

Yasuke smiled. "Momotaros!" A streak of red appeared in Yasuke's hair, and another voice spoke from his mouth. "About time you called me out. This the guy?" _"That's Hajime,"_ came Yasuke's voice from nowhere, confusing Hajime. "Allow me to introduce myself," the new voice said, "I am Momotaros, one of the Imagin. We're time travelers, capable of altering history. I'm sure if you can pass Yasuke's test, he'll tell you more, but for now." He attached the Driver and pulled out what looked like a black commuter pass. "Henshin!" He pressed a red button on the Driver and swiped the pass across it. _**"Sword Form!"**_

A Rider armor with a secondary red layer formed over Yasuke, as a peach shape moved across his head sounding much like a train. "I am Kamen Rider Den-O!" Den-O did a quick pose. "Ore, sanjou!" He soon found himself having to block OOO's Tora claws. "And now you'll be leaving," OOO quipped. Den-O looked a little stunned. "Oi, Yasuke! He actually countered my cool catchphrase with a cool one-liner!" _"What is it with you and looking cool?,"_ Yasuke asked, _"Just focus on the fight."_ Den-O nodded and got out his DenGasher, configuring it into a sword. He clashed a few times, the blade from his sword getting caught in OOO's claws.

"This guys a little tough partner," Den-O noted after a few exchanges, "Maybe we should let one of the others give it a try." _"A bit unlike you, Momo,"_ Yasuke noted, _"Your last partner must have been quite the good influence. Alright then, Urataros, you're up."_ Den-O pressed the blue button on his driver. _**"Rod Form!"**_ _'Urataros?,'_ Hajime thought, _'Another Imagin? Well, I'll find out soon enough.'_ He swapped out his Medals for Den-O's new form. _**"Taka! Kamakiri! Batta!"**_ Den-O, meanwhile, had swapped to a blue configuration, a new voice coming from him. "Boku ni tsuraretemiru?" He swung the DenGasher, now in rod form, only to get blocked by OOO's Kamakiri blades. "Yes, actually, I would."

He leapt over Den-O, striking his back with the blades. "Owowowowow," Den-O complained, "Fighting another Rider is a lot different than other Imagin or Shadows." _"Suck it up Ura, we still need understand his strength."_ The two Riders traded blows for while, before Den-O got winded. "This guy can go all day. Yasuke, I need to tag out." Yasuke sighed. _"Very well. Kintaros, your turn."_ Den-O now pressed the yellow button while OOO swapped Medals again. _**"Axe Form!"**_ _**"Taka! Kamakiri! Cheetah!"**_ Den-O's new yellow form came with a new voice again. "I am Kintaros!" From seemingly nowhere, tissues seemed to fall from the sky. "Ore no tsuyosa ni omae ga naita!"

However, he got blindsided by OOO's speed, as he struck Den-O multiple times. "Say that after you win," OOO remarked. Den-O got up and used his fist to crack his neck, giving a chuckle that showed how impressed he was. "Very well. My strength versus your speed. Let's see which gives out first." He charged at OOO, his DenGasher now in axe form. OOO couldn't help but be reminded of a charging bear. Calmly, he dashed to one side, slashing Den-O as he did. "I can mix and match powers all day," he noted, "But your forms are more rigid." To prove his point, he made a few more passes, knocking Den-O to the ground.

Getting himself up, Den-O noted, "He has a point Yasuke. My strength won't help in this situation. Want to try Ryutaros?" _"Worth a shot, almost literally."_ Den-O nodded as he pressed the purple button on his Driver, while OOO once again swapped Medals. _**"Gun Form!"**_ _**"Lion! Kamakiri! Cheetah!"**_ Den-O took on a new purple form and yet another new voice. "Hi there, I'm Ryutaros." He skipped formed as he reformed the DenGasher into a gun. "Moshi watashi ga anata o utsunaraba?" He suddenly became blinded as OOO activated the Lion Medals power. "Yes, I would mind. I'd prefer to beat you." He slashed Den-O a few times, finally having one of his blades at Den-O's throat. "Hmm," Hajime noted, "A draw." It turned out at the same time, Den-O had his DenGasher pointed at OOO's stomach.

"Well," Den-O said, "That was fun. Okay, Yasuke, back to you." He canceled his transformation, Yasuke having resumed his normal hair color. "The Imagin can be quite eccentric," he noted, "I'm sure by now Kogami has told you of the coming Tragedy." "And you're wondering if I can prevent it?," Hajime asked. "Or at least prevent it's full force," Yasuke replied, "Momotaros and his crew came back from an alternate future where quite a good chunk of the human population was killed thanks to the Tragedy. They accepted a contract from someone to prevent as many deaths as possible." He turned to Hajime. "And there's something else. I think my girlfriend may be the one trying to instigate this Tragedy." Hajime narrowed his eyes. "Would that girlfriend be Junko Enoshima?"

* * *

Yasuke's newfound status as a Kamen Rider gave him a reason to openly oppose Junko, allowing him to survive into the time of The Tragedy. He would eventually learn about Junko's death at the end of the School Killing Game, and while it brought him down, he wouldn't let it tear him apart. When the Tragedy finally ended, he was able to put his neurology skills to good work, founding an entire school dedicated to the science. And every year he would return to Junko's grave, still asking her why she wanted despair in the first place.

To be continued...

 **A quick note on the catchphrases of each Imagin and Hajime's response to them.**

 **Momotaros: I, have arrived!**

 **Urataros: Mind if I reel you in?**

 **Kintaros: My strength has made you cry!**

 **Ryutaros: Mind if I beat you?**

 **Keep in mind this is only approximate. Also, I won't be doing Den-O's Wing Form. I've been getting major suggestions as how this story "should" go. Um... It's my story, and I already know how it's going to go. I can appreciate a darker story, but this is basically supposed to be "Saturday Morning Cartoon" type dark. Anyway, read and review.**


	20. Chapter 20: Nursing

**Every Kamen Rider needs a Super Mode (or least the ones from the Heisei Era do) and those familiar with OOO know what that is. However, we're not gonna be using his ultimate skill just yet. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 20: Dating, Nursing, and the Blazing Combo

Mikan was grateful for the recent break in her duties. Looking after the victims of Despair monsters was truly tiring, but the look of relief on their faces when they came out of it made it worthwhile. It also had other benefits as wells. Because Mikan was working so hard, Hiyoko decided to stop teasing her so much, especially after she learned how much it brought back past trauma. As she mused while walking down the hall, Mikan wound up bumping into Ryota by accident, spilling her medical notes. "Oh, sorry," Ryota said as he began helping Mikan gather up the papers.

By coincidence, they both reached for the same paper at the same time and wound up touching hands, causing Mikan to gasp. Ryota, noting the blush on Mikan's face, quipped, "Wow. Who would have thought we'd wind up in a cliche from a romance manga?" The question sounded so serious that Mikan couldn't help but laugh, helping her calm down. "Oh yeah," Ryota said as they both got up, "Chiaki and Hajime were planning another date to Cous Coussier. It's sounds like such a nice place that I was wondering if you'd like to join me there. We can make it a double date."

For a few seconds, Mikan stood there, numb, her steadily moving chest the only indication she was still alive. Sighing, Ryota said, "Don't fall into another cliche, Mikan." Mikan shook her head and slapped her cheek a couple times. "Sorry... I'd love to go." Ryota smiled. "Great. The date's planned for tomorrow after school. I think the theme was supposed to be some sort of London town thing. It always seems to change every other week." Mikan nodded happily. The two parted ways, but Mikan had a feeling she was gonna have a hard time containing herself tonight.

* * *

At that moment, the academy was being monitored by Mukuro. "Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse. You sure you wanna try recruiting this one, sis?" 'Indeed,' came Junko's voice over Mukuro's two-way radio, 'Her history is interesting. All full of physical and emotional abuse. Possibly sexual abuse as well, but the jury's still out on that one. The 77th class are basically her first real friends.' "How do you plan on going about this?," Mukuro asked, "Given the current state of Hope's Peak, the direct approach won't be easy." 'True enough,' Junko replied, 'What are your thoughts regarding your recent observations?'

Mukuro thought for a second. "I just saw her taking with Ryota. From her reactions, it's clear that the context is him asking her on a date." Junko was silent for a while. 'Interesting. Well, my timetable has been pushed up already. But we'll need something big enough to keep our Kamen Rider friends occupied.' Mukuro got it. "And not just a few, but all of them." 'I'll come up with something by tomorrow,' Junko said, 'That's most likely when they'll be going out. Anything from Yasuke?' "He's attending school," Mukuro noted, "But he's fallen in with Hajime and the others." Junko sighed. 'Not good.'

* * *

The next day, Mikan had finished getting ready when she heard several students talking. "Lots of those mummy-like monsters have shown up around the city. I heard the Kamen Riders are having their hands full." Knowing Ryota was a Kamen Rider, Mikan grew concerned and immediately called him. 'Mikan? Good timing, I was just gonna call you.' "I heard something about more monsters attacking from the other students." 'Yeah, they're called Trash Yummies. Created when a Cell Medal gets broken. Listen, Chiaki is already at the Cous Coussier. Meet her there and me and Hajime will try and get there as soon as possible.' "Okay," Mikan said, and headed out.

On the way, she was stopped by a young woman perhaps a year younger than her. "Having problems?," she asked, "You seem a little distraught." "Oh, it's nothing," Mikan replied, "This boy I like asked me on a date-" "Don't tell me," the woman cut her off, "He just canceled." Mikan shook her head. "No, he's just told me to go on ahead. Something's holding him up. Traffic I think." The woman shrugged. "Well no wonder, all those Trash Yummies holding up the Kamen Riders-" But she was cut off when Mikan slammed her against a wall and held a scalpel to her throat. "How do you know what those monsters are called? Everyone else I heard talking about them refers to them as mummies."

The woman chuckled. "She's on to us sis. Plan B." Mikan suddenly felt a terrible pain rip through her, causing her to faint. The woman and her sister, Junko and Mukuro respectively, sighed. "She was more alert to the situation than I thought," Junko noted as the Despair monster rose, "This bodes ill for our plans." "It's still early," Mukuro reassured her, "And to be fair, targeting someone who knows a Kamen Rider personally may have been a bad idea in hindsight." The two sisters activated their Drivers. "Henge!"

* * *

OOO, Den-O, Kuuga, and Core had finally gotten some breathing room. "Man," OOO said, "This is way too many Trash Yummies. Dark couldn't have gotten her hands on that many of the Cell Medals." "Maybe she's doing more than snapping them in half," Kuuga suggested. OOO nodded. "That would make sense. When a Cell Medal is broken, each piece generates a Trash Yummy. Normally, I've only seen the Greeed break the Medals in half, but given their strength they could break them into more pieces, generating more Trash. Dark may have had the same idea."

Suddenly a call came in on Ryota's phone. Hiyoko was frantically yelling on the other end. 'I just saw Mikan collapse as she confronted two women! One of those monsters came out of her!' Ryota gasped. "Mikan..." He quickly got out a Taka Candroid. "Go. Find Dark and Fenrir." The Candroid squawked an affirmative and flew off. It didn't have far to fly, since both Armored Riders and their new Despair were approaching. "Not too hard," Kuuga noted, "Can you find Mikan?" The Taka Candroid flew off, Kuuga in pursuit. Meanwhile, Dark noted the empty area. _"You took out those creatures a little fast."_

Den-O chuckled as he approached. "That would be because of my help. I'm Kamen Rider Den-O." Dark gasped. _'That voice... It's Yasuke... I feared as much. This will put a serious hamper on my plans.'_ "Ordinarily I let my Imagin friends fight," Den-O stated, "But considering who I suspect you to be, I think it best if I deal with this personally." He pressed the yellow button on his Driver. _**"Axe Form!"**_ He drove his DenGasher across Dark's armor, hard enough to knock her back. Getting up, she muttered, _"I'm getting a strange feeling from this. Can't quite place it... I'll file it for later."_

Meanwhile, Core had started tangling with Fenrir, the soldier getting blind-sided by a boxer actually using more than just punches. _"You take any martial arts lesson or something? I'm finding it hard to follow your moves."_ Core chuckled. "Ever since becoming a Kamen Rider, I've found myself moving away from being just another boxer. From now on, I'm leaving the boxing in the ring. Outside it, I'll smash you with every inch of my body I can spare." _"Phrasing...,"_ Fenrir muttered, as she blocked another attack.

OOO dodged several scalpels and syringes launched by Nurse's Despair, his Taka senses combined with the Batta legs making it easier to do. On the other hand, his Tora claws, while doing good damage, didn't do enough due to the Despair having a healing factor. "This is going on too long," OOO noted, "She continues fighting she'll burn through the Medals in no time." He brought two more Red Medals and nodded. "I had hoped to save this form for closer to the end. But if Dark's gonna up the bar, I should do the same." He slotted the two Medals. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - Time Judged All)

The immense heat and energy that emerged caught the attention of the two Armored Riders as Nurse's Despair was knocked backward by the force of the transformation. The new red form had an O Lung image that looked more complete than any other, and the Taka helmet looked far more detailed. In addition, there was a pair of wings growing from OOO's back. He quickly put them to use, leaping into the air and flying to grab the Despair and fling it across the field. The creature got up and started launching projectiles again, but OOO blocked them with the shield provided by the Kujaku Medal.

He landed just long enough to summon a brilliant, rainbow-colored peacock tail, firing off the individual feathers to counter another flechette storm from the Despair. Meanwhile, Den-O swiped his Liner Pass across his Driver. _**"Full Charge!"**_ Leaping into the air, he struck Dark with his DenGasher. "Dynamic Chop!" Core charged his own driver before leaping into the air to come down on Fenrir. "Eagle Dive!" The attack plowed into Fenrir. Both Armored Riders were blown back and forced to retreat.

Meanwhile, OOO had flown back into the air, Nurse's Despair having been pinned by one of the feathers he threw. "Time to get our friend back. Never mess with a god in human form." He swiped his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ The Condor legs extended into a pair of vicious looking talons, and OOO flew feet first at the Despair. "Prominence Drop!" He came down on the Despair, the talons closing around her as she was slammed into the ground, exploding into Medals. OOO was soon joined by Den-O and Core. "Nice job," Den-O noted, "Now we have a trump card against Dark." "And we'll need it going forward," OOO agreed, "Dark and Fenrir seem to putting their plans into motion."

* * *

After Mikan woke up, she found herself in the academy's medical ward. She couldn't help but note the irony. She turned her head to see Ryota sitting there next to her bed, with Hajime and Chiaki walking in. "Glad to see you're okay," Chiaki said, "I was worried when you didn't show up." Mikan nodded. "I'm sorry. I wound up caught off-guard. That woman I ran into, she must of have been responsible for all this." Hajime got out a picture of Junko Enoshima. "Just to check, is this the woman you ran into?" Mikan nodded grimly, confirming Hajime and Ryota's concerns.

* * *

When stuck in the Island Killing Game during the time of The Tragedy, Mikan found herself infected with the Despair Disease and once again regaining her lost memories. The only problem was, this time she didn't become a member of Ultimate Despair and thus her memories of her friends filled her mind. This didn't go unnoticed by Nagito, who was aware enough to see the determination in her eyes as she worked to save him when he suffered greatly from the fever. Unfortunately, this meant Ibuki took Mikan's place as Hiyoko's "killer", though Mikan was grateful to learn no one had really died.

After the Tragedy was over, she settled in and started her own hospital. From now on, she swore to help those weaker than her for the right reasons, rather than simply because it would make her feel better about herself. This went over well with her friends, and her new husband Ryota, who was the biggest inspiration for her new way of thinking. Before long the hospital became well-known and inspired other medical professionals to take up their work once more. She had finally learned how to differentiate between real feelings, and feelings used for personal gain.

To be continued...

 **Decide for yourself how Chapter 3 of Super Danganronpa 2 would have gone if Mikan was replaced by Ibuki as Hiyoko's killer with no other victims. Maybe even post it as a one-shot on your own account (just be sure to credit me).** **As for Junko and Mukuro calling out "Henge!" as opposed "Henshin!", this is another way to distinguish them from Kamen Riders (henge is Japanese for change, while henshin means transform).** **Read and review.**


	21. Chapter 21: Agency

**I had to look up some information about this chapter, since it involves bits from Danganronpa Zero, a light novel I haven't even read. Something else I should mention. One of my reviews liked how Juzo became an original Kamen Rider. Well, quick confession, while the concept behind Kamen Rider Core is original, the name is not, coming from one of the OOO movies. Here, the new Rider introduced is the opposite, original name with powers seen in Kamen Rider canon before. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 21: The First Mirror, Agency, and the Crushed Medal

The Kamen Riders were currently a serious situation. Ibuki had been the next Ultimate to be targeted by the Armored Riders, yet there was no sign of either them or the Despair made using her. To top it all off, even the Candroids couldn't locate them. "They're clearly planning something massive," Fuyuhiko noted, "Unless the Despair is active, it can't drain the Cell Medals. But where on Earth could they be right now?" "Perhaps I can shed some light on this situation," came a voice from the same room. The group turned to a young man their age. "Hi there, Yuto Kamishiro, Ultimate Secret Agent."

* * *

"It's been a while since we've met," Junko noted as noticed G entering the amphitheater where she and Mukuro were setting up a new plan. G noted the Musician's Despair in the corner, doing nothing but practicing its guitar. "You do remember that if the Despair is not active, it will not consume Medals." "Oh we remember," Mukuro replied, slapping G on the back, "And that's the point." "If the Despair isn't running around it won't attract attention from the Kamen Riders," Junko explained, "This one's combat abilities are lacking, you see."

"But like it's host, it's a great a musician," Mukuro said as she sat on a bench, "But it only plays screeching death metal music. The torment it'll cause because of the concert we have planned can help it run through quite a good chunk of its energy, if not all of it." G nodded. "What of the one setting all this up?" "I'm almost finished," Junko noted. G looked concerned. "I scanned the region before approaching, and there were three humans. If you are the one setting up the equipment, who is the third human?" The two sisters looked at each other, also concerned.

* * *

Back at the academy, Yuto got out his notebook and relayed what he had learned. "I overheard your suspicions regarding Junko Enoshima. Before you ask, my talent involves my complete lack of presence unless I actively want someone to notice me, or some machine or other picks up my vital signs. Back on topic, I tracked down Junko to her place of residence and from there began observation, confirming her identity as Armored Rider Dark and discovering her sister, Mukuro Ikusaba, as Armored Rider Fenrir. Their current plans involve setting things up so they can make Hope's Peak Academy the epicenter of the apocalypse."

"Yeah, Junko's been bugging me about the process behind a few neurosurgery proceeders I invented," Yasuke noted, "Groundbreaking stuff, but with disastrous consequences if used for the wrong reasons. Right now, the process is a closely guarded secret." "So where do the Black Medals and these Despair monsters come in?," Fuyuhiko asked. "Experimentation," Yuto explained, "Junko is testing what effects these creatures could have on the human psyche, slowly refining the process of potentially reverse-engineering Yasuke's neurosurgery."

"And Foundation X is backing them," Hajime noted. Yuto nodded. "They've sent a mysterious agent known only as G to monitor them, as well as provide whatever they need for their experiments. As for what they get out of it... Not only can they research Hajime's O Medals, but I believe they may have plans to use Junko's scheme for their own ends, modified to suit their purpose. I'm still checking with my network for details." "Do you know where they are now?," Fuyuhiko asked. "An old amphitheater in the local park," Yuto replied, "They intend to use the current Despair to hold a concert. Since it's made from Ibuki, you can guess the intended outcome."

* * *

The roar of several Ridevendors got the trio's attention. "Looks like whoever was spying on us gave away our location," G noted. He then became confused. Hajime, Fuyuhiko, and Juzo were there, but there were four Ridevendors. "Where is the fourth Rider?" "Right here," came Yuto's voice, now visible to the others since he had spoken up, "And if you want to keep your eyes one me, let me make it easier." "Sis," Junko said, "Second location." Mukuro nodded before they got out their drivers. "Henge!" _**"Sasori! Kani! Ebi! Sa-San-Ibi!"**_

"Henge?," Yuto asked, confused, "Not henshin?" "Must be more of Dark's idea of differentiating us," Fuyuhiko nodded, "Yuto, ready for your first fight?" Yuto smiled. "I've been waiting for a chance like this to stand out." They each got out their own Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Volcancer! Scissors!"**_ _**"Style: Avian!"**_ _**"Skull!"**_ _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ The newly created Kamen Rider chuckled. "Let me introduce myself. Kamen Rider Mirror, holding powers not seen since the time of Ryuki." _"Lots of power there,"_ Dark admitted. She took out a Cell Medal, then crushed it in her hand before throwing the pieces in front of her.

The various pieces each spawned a Trash Yummy. "So that's how she does it," OOO noted, "Guys, we need area attacks." He swapped his Medals for the task. _**"Taka! Unagi! Batta!"**_ As he lashed out against the Trash, G opened fire. Mirror quickly moved in, slotting a card from his Card Deck into the Visor on his left arm. _**"Guard Vent!"**_ The card generated the Shell Defense, a shield similar to a crab carapace, which Mirror used to block the shots. Meanwhile, Skull held up a new Gaia Memory. "Let's give this one a try." _**"Skull! Crystal!"**_ Now coated in a crystal-like substance, Skull punched the ground hard enough to conjure crystal spires that destroyed several Trash.

Core looked at his belt. "Maybe this one," he said as he spun the Driver. _**"Style: Marine!"**_ He was now shifted to a blue armor, his gloves having fins on them and his cloak having a killer whale motif. In this form he found himself able to generate water attacks capable of destroying several Trash. Dark quickly moved in to attack Mirror, who slotted another card. _**"Strike Vent!"**_ Now having a large crab claw called the Scissors Pincer on his right hand, he easily blocked Dark's attack and struck back. "Crab against crab," Mirror quipped, "Your odds aren't so good.

OOO jumped across the amphitheater as Fenrir shot at him, giving the Despair time to flee. "Oh no you don't," OOO said as he swapped out his Medals. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Batta!"**_ This summoned his Kujaku shield, which Fenrir learned could also fire energy orbs as an offensive attack. Unfortunately, it looked like Fenrir was able to buy to time for the Despair to escape, also leaving herself. Meanwhile, Dark got blasted back by Mirror's attack. He slotted yet another card. _**"Advent!"**_ The card summoned a humanoid crab monster, which barreled through several Trash, destroying them.

"Mirror!," Core called out, "Let's finish this mob!" He charged his belt, while Skull slotted his Skull Memory into his Skull Magnum, and Mirror slotted another card. _**"Skull! Maximum Drive!"**_ _**"Final Vent!"**_ Dark grabbed G and leapt out of the way as the three attacks launched, Core making a chopping motion with his arm as a killer whale's image appeared, and Mirror launched himself off Volcancer's claws and somersaulting into the Trash. "Whale Tsunami!" "Skull Punisher!" "Scissors Attack!" The three attacks destroyed the mob of Trash, but there was no sign of the Armored Riders, G, or the Musician's Despair. "Yuto," Hajime said as the four Riders canceled their transformations, "Are there any other places to hold a concert in the city?"

* * *

With Yuto and Yasuke firmly on each others' side, Yasuke saw no reason to kill Yuto, allowing the Ultimate Secret Agent to survive until the time of The Tragedy. Yuto's skills proved handy in finding out the movements of Ultimate Despair and the Warriors of Hope, and his capabilities as Kamen Rider Mirror let him destroy hundreds of Monokuma bots. With the Tragedy ended, Yuto seemed to disappear again, but he would show up every once in a while, having officially become a freelance secret agent working to preserve the world's newfound peace.

To be continued...

 **By now, I've corrected a mistake, and wrote out a change of fate for Yasuke. You know, sooner or later these will add up, big time. Read and review.**


	22. Chapter 22: Music

**Okay, I want to make one thing clear. Yuto has NOT become Kamen Rider Scissors, that's just one of his power sets. His title is Kamen Rider MIRROR. Think of it this way, he becomes a mirror image of the Riders from Ryuki (kinda, since the orientation is normal). Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 22: The Second Mirror, Music, and the Concert

In the concert hall where Junko and Mukuro had things set up, G seemed to stare at the back of Junko's neck. "I don't appreciate leering," Junko warned. "Apologies," G said, "I was just curious as what you plan to do now that the Riders are on to us." "I'm honestly more concerned with how they even traced us," Junko admitted, "We were situated in such a way that even those can robot things couldn't find us. I was able to analyze their hunting patterns. They're as predictable as animals. My guess is that it's whoever that person you noticed was."

"But who could be so skilled that even WE couldn't detect him without electronic equipment?," Mukuro wondered. "That's the real problem," Junko said with a shrug, "I don't have enough information to make any sort of call on this. I know all the current alumni, but..." She then thought of something and looked around. However, the only sign anyone else had listened in was a slightly ajar door at the front of the concert hall. Yuto had checked the location and spotted the trio talking, then left when he got his information. "Yuto Kamishiro," Junko muttered, deeply concerned, "The Ultimate Secret Agent. Our problems just tripled."

* * *

Yuto handed a flier to the group while meeting at the Kogami Foundation. "This is how they're luring in people," he explained, "A concert held by the Kawaii Choir, led by Sayaka Maizono. She's the most popular teen idol in Japan, to the point where she's already been scouted for Hope's Peak Academy. They plan on hosting the concert tomorrow, but instead of Sayaka and the choir, it'll be Musician's Despair ready to wreck their eardrums." Hajime listened to all this. "Okay, we should strike quickly, but a concert hall might be too crowded for ten Riders."

"Hajime is our official leader," Yuto noted, "And since we have four things to deal with, Dark, Fenrir, G, and the Despair, three other Riders should join him. I intend to volunteer." He shrugged. "Anyone else?" "I'm in," Akane said, cracking her knuckles, "It's been far too long since I've fought." "I'm in as well," Kyosuke said with a nod, "I still have one last card set to try." The four Riders nodded, then headed out to grab their Ridevendors. "One last thing," Yuto said, "We need to modify the Candroids. Junko has started picking up patterns in their searches." Hajime nodded, and they rode off.

* * *

Dark and Fenrir had already transformed, anticipating the Riders to appear while they worked feverishly to complete the setup for the concert. They were quickly interrupted by Kivala and Decade kicking open the concert hall doors, Hajime and Yuto right behind them. "Henshin!" Dark noticed Mirror took on a black armor with silver highlights before the Card Deck completed the transformation. _**"Magnugiga! Zolda!"**_ _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ Mirror got out a card and slotted it into the gun-like Visor he carried. _**"Shoot Vent!"**_ The card conjured the Giga Cannon, twin shoulder-mounted laser cannons that blasted the concert stage, scattering the Armored Riders, Musician's Despair, and G.

G stood before Kivala before breathing deep and transforming into a red humanoid dragon, which instantly started throwing fireballs, Kivala dodged out of the way before loading in a fuestle. _**"Goblin Sword!"**_ The sword proved strong enough to do decent damage to G. Mirror was dodging around Fenrir, who tried firing off her sidearm while Mirror slotted a card. _**"Guard Vent!"**_ The card summoned the Giga Tector, twin shield mounted on Mirror's forearms. After blocking a few shots, he slotted another card. _**"Strike Vent!"**_ Now armed with the Giga Horn, a forearm mounted gauntlet with bull horns, Mirror delivered a strong melee attack that sent Fenrir sprawling.

Facing off against the Despair, OOO changed his Medals to maximize attack. _**"Taka! Tora! Condor!"**_ The combination of the Tora claws and Condor talons started scattering Cell Medals as the Musician's Despair took damage. Seeing this, Dark tried moving in to intercept, only for Mirror to break off his own fight to block the attack. _**"Guard Vent!"**_ Dark's claws bounced off Mirror's Giga Armor, a giant shield resembling a breastplate. "Your fight's with me," Decade declared to Dark, slotting a card. _**"Attack Ride! Slash!"**_ The two exchanged attack before Decade revealed another card. "Time for one last Sentai!"

 _ **"Sentai Ride! Go-Onger!"**_ No changed into Go-On Red, Decade slashed at Dark using his Road Saber. Meanwhile, Kivala was charging the full power of her sword to strike down G. "Charging Horde!" The series of wild slashes sent G sprawling to the ground and caused him to revert back to human form. Fenrir saw Dark take a bad hit and helped her sister up, only to face Decade and Mirror. _**"Shoot Vent!"**_ _**"Attack Ride! Saber Straight!"**_ As Mirror conjured the Giga Launcher, a giant laser cannon, Decade raced in, performing a massive slash against the two Armored Riders, with Mirror following up with a powerful blast from the launcher.

Dark got up and crushed a Cell Medal she had with her. _"Time to throw some more bodies onto the pile."_ Seeing the horde of Trash Yummies, OOO quickly swapped Medals to deal with the situation while Mirror slotted another card. _**"Kuwagata! Tora! Batta!"**_ _**"Advent!"**_ Mirror summoned a robotic humanoid bull. As OOO used his Kuwagata power to shock the group of Trash, Mirror readied another card. "OOO, I'll deal with the Trash. Once they're clear, destroy the Despair." "Got it," OOO said as he readied his combo. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_

"All set," Mirror said as he slotted in the card. _**"Final Vent!"**_ Placing the visor into a slot on Magnugiga's back, Mirror called out, "End of World!" The mass of firepower destroyed the entire group of Trash, leaving the Musician's Despair open as OOO got his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ OOO leaped into the air and flipped as his wings and talons unfolded and he dove onto the Despair. "Prominence Drop!" As the attack caused the creature to explode, the Armored Riders were thrown back. _"Concert's canceled sis,"_ Junko said sadly, _"Let's leave while we can."_ She sprayed an escape mist for herself and Fenrir.

* * *

"Man do I feel great!," Ibuki stated, having recovered following the destruction of the Musician's Despair. In the wake of the incident, Kogami pulled some strings and an official press release stated the Kawaii Choir concert was canceled due to one of the members developing bronchitis. "Looks like things are looking good going into the next year, huh?," Ibuki noted, "Only a few more weeks and we get to meet our underclassmen." _'We already know who three of them are,'_ Hajime thought, _'And two of them I'm worried about. Still, Ibuki's right. For now, things seem to be looking up.'_

* * *

A previous change in time had turned Ibuki from a victim to a killer during the Island Killing Game. But now a new change occurred in the time of The Tragedy. While debilitated by the Despair Fever, Ibuki wasn't completely changed, resulting in her staying in the hospital while Mikan looked after her. That still brought tragedy to Hiyoko, who was so distraught over her best friend Mahiru being killed that she committed suicide, which was noted in the following trial. Of course, it later turned out there were no actual deaths, as the entire game was virtual. After the Tragedy, Ibuki brought together a whole bunch of music artists and performed a massive concert to rival Woodstock, all for the sake of reminding people what it feels like to be happy.

To be continued...

 **Well, Killer Ibuki didn't last long, now did it? Now I'm sure there will be some OOO fans wondering when Birth will show up. Trust me, it's soon. Read and review.**


	23. Chapter 23: Birth

**Well guys, it's finally time to introduce Birth. Now one of my reviewers at least suspects what I'm about to reveal, but thinks it's too soon. I should mention that every twelve chapters represents six months, and we're getting on the twenty third, which means in two more chapters it'll be time to introduce the crew that started it all. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 23: The Third Mirror, Birth, and New Students

Junko and Mukuro were being driven through the city in a big limo and enjoying some seltzer. "So," Junko said as she made an attempt to stab Mukuro to death, "New school year at Hope's Peak Academy is coming up, and we've both been scouted for attendance." Mukuro smiled as she effortlessly blocked all Junko's strikes. "I'm not sure how I feel about you being called the Ultimate Fashionista. Isn't that just a byproduct of your real talent?" "Yeah," Junko said as she walked through the limo, unpinning a grenade and throwing it at Mukuro.

Mukuro simply caught the grenade in her wineglass and threw it out the window. Right behind the limo was a young man on a Ridevendor. The Gorilla Candroid that was with him knocked the grenade into the air, where it exploded harmlessly. Mukuro briefly looked back, noticing this. "That's weird. Did it bounce off a car's bumper?" Junko shrugged. "Anyway, back to your original question. It's true I'm only this good because I can predict the latest trends, but really I'm okay with this title. It'll insure our conflict stays between us and the Kamen Riders."

Mukuro nodded. "That's true. Most people wouldn't take you for such a intelligent woman because of your appearance." Junko grinned. "It's a convenient stereotype. That said, by now the Kamen Riders know we're up to something, so no point trying to fool them. Still, unless we're actively working on our plans I doubt they'll confront us. They're smarter than that. And a new year will give us new targets. I just hope I don't get too attached to our classmates. That'll only make things harder." Mukuro smiled. Junko had a much different definition of "hard" than most people.

"Well, let's put that off for a while. Maybe focusing on other Ultimates will give you time to determine how you feel about our class." "You're right," Junko noted, "But recently the pool of available students is dwindling. And we still need to set one aside for my experiment. Once we start school next year we'll have more resources to work with." She sat down. "Let's see if we can get anyone right now." She got out a new Black Medal and started going through the various Ultimates. Finally, she got a hit. "Ah, this one should be interesting..." She grinned as she slotted the Medal.

* * *

The 77th class was planning a big celebration to welcome their new underclassmen for the new school year. "This is getting pretty exciting," Nagito noted, "I can't wait to see what new talents are being presented this year." "I looked at the online forums," Hajime said, "We already know about Sayaka Maizono. There's also a baseball star, already on his high school team. His pitching clocks in at 160 kilometers. Then there's the young leader of the Crazy Diamonds, the biggest biker gang in Japan." "I thought the current leader had already graduated," Fuyuhiko noted.

"You didn't hear?," Mahiru chimed in, "The previous leader died in a traffic accident. The new leader is his younger brother, already entering high school." Hajime nodded. "There's also Sakura Ogami, a mixed martial arts master with a 400-win streak under her belt." "How do you know her full name?," Nagito asked. Hajime smiled. "Her father is my martial arts sensei. Where do you think all my fighting skills as OOO came from?" Hiyoko then became starry-eyed. "And there's also Toko Fukawa, the legendary romance novelist! I've read all her works, especially 'So Lingers the Ocean'. That one was a true classic."

"I'm curious as to who the 78th Ultimate Lucky Student will be," Sonia said. "I don't think they post those on the forum," Hajime admitted. Nagito shook his head. "No they don't. It was a little disappointing, but at the same time I knew it was because the identity of the lottery winner isn't made public until the school year starts. I do know they had to retake the lottery however." "Retake it?," Hajime asked, confused. Nagito nodded. "If a lottery winner loses their invite, the lottery is retaken, since the one who lost the invite obviously didn't have the necessary luck. It's happened a few times before, though never more than once a year."

"Hey Teruteru," Kazuichi called out, "How's the food coming?" "Almost ready," Teruteru said as he watched a Kujaku Candroid use its fan-like tail to cool off the desserts, "Once we've made sure the dishes are to everyone's liking, we can plan out the setup." Just at that moment, Hiyoko suddenly convulsed, dropping to the ground. The group gasped as a mass of Cell Medals in a vaguely human shape leapt out the nearby window. "One of those Despair monsters!," Teruteru realized. He motioned for the Kujaku Candroid. "Save the desserts for later and follow that mass of Medals!" The Candroid squawked and flew out the window, Hajime, Yuto, and Kazuichi heading for their Ridevendors.

* * *

The newly created Traditional Dancer's Despair materialized in front of the Armored Riders. _"This one should provide us with the research we need,"_ Dark noted. She then heard the squawk of the Kujaku Candroid as it flew away. _"Wait,"_ Fenrir realized, _"Shouldn't we be out of their predicted stalking patterns?"_ That's when the three Ridevendors showed up. "I made sure to make some modifications," Kazuichi said with a grin, "OOO, the one selected for Birth will be showing up soon. Let's buy some time until then."

Hajime nodded as the trio readied their Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Mode: Liger!"**_ _**"Darkwing! Knight!"**_ _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ "Let's set the stage," Mirror said, taking out a card and slotting it into his rapier-like Visor. _**"Nasty Vest!"**_ The bat-like Darkwing briefly appeared, shrieking at a pitch that stunned both Armored Riders and the Despair, the latter of which leapt onto a nearby building. "You're not getting away so easily," OOO said, swapping out Medals. _**"Taka! Gorilla! Tako!"**_ As he used his new Tako legs to scale the wall towards Dancer's Despair, Mirror slotted another card while Battalion changed modes. _**"Sword Vent!"**_ _**"Mode: Schneider!"**_

Battalion used his wrist-mounted blades to clash with Dark while Mirror used his Wing Lancer against Fenrir. Fenrir quickly got out her sidearm and fired, causing Mirror to pull out another card. _**"Guard Vent!"**_ This conjured the Wing Wall, a mirrored cape the deflected Fenrir's shots. Up above, OOO was using the Gorilla arms to bash around the Despair, eventually knocking it to the ground below. The creature got up and began spinning, drawing in debris from the fight to creature a large rubble dragon.

"That can't be good," Battalion noted as he swapped modes. _**"Mode: Panzer!"**_ He fired on the giant construct, while OOO flew down to deal with Dark, swapping Medals as he did. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_ As OOO danced around Dark, and Battalion fired on the construct, another Ridevendor came in, this one with a Rider already transformed. "Sorry I'm late," the Rider said. Both Armored Riders looked at the new arrival. _"So who's this one?,"_ Dark asked. "I'm Kamen Rider Birth," the Rider explained, "Thanks for finishing this suit by the way, Battalion." "No problem!," Battalion said, "Now if you don't mind helping!?"

Birth nodded, and placed a Cell Medal into his Driver before twisting a nob on the side. _**"Salamander Launcher!"**_ A giant gray energy cannon with red highlights emerged from his chest, as if built on the spot. The cannon started charging as Fenrir, realizing it was pointed at the Despair's construct, rushed at him, only to be stopped by Mirror as he slotted in another card. _**"Trick Vent!"**_ Using the Shadow Illusion, Mirror surrounded Fenrir with eight identical and functional duplicates. With Dark still occupied by OOO, this gave Birth enough time to blast the construct, causing severe damage.

One of the Mirror doubles kicked Fenrir away as the real Mirror slotted in another card. _**"Advent!"**_ Darkwing appeared, striking the construct for more damage. "I think it needs a little more," Battalion noted. Mirror nodded. "Then let's give it a little more." _**"Final Vent!"**_ Battalion manifested the main cannons for Panzer Mode while Darkwing transformed into a cape on Mirror's back, Mirror leaping into the air. As Battalion fired, Mirror's cape turned into a drill around the Wing Lancer. "Armament Assault!" "Hishouzan!"

The two attacks destroyed the construct, but left the Despair still alive. Dark quickly broke away from OOO and sprayed her mist to let the both of them escape, Fenrir escaping by firing her grapple line. The first three Riders canceled their transformations. "Thanks Birth," Hajime said. "No problem," Birth said, canceling his own transformation. It turned out to be the same young man who had been unknowingly tailing Junko and Mukuro's limo. "I should introduce myself," the young man said, "My name is Makoto Naegi. I'm set to become the 78th Ultimate Lucky Student. Pleased to meet you."

* * *

Makoto didn't need much fate changing during the time of The Tragedy, but a few things went better for him. His status as a Kamen Rider led to a better relationship with Kyosuke, who came to understand Makoto's views on spreading hope and agreed to his New World Program. He was also able to go to Towa City directly and speak with his sister Komaru. He also was able to fight back against the Ultimate Elite Task Force. Beyond that, little changed for him, and he and Kyoko were able to rebuild Hope's Peak Academy, with himself as the new headmaster.

To be continued...

 **Surprise! Makoto gets introduced early. Somewhat. Like I said, it won't be until chapter 25, maybe the end of chapter 24, that the whole of the 78th class gets introduced. Also, I went with the secondary names of Birth's Birth CLAWs. I'll explain a few of the tweaks Kazuichi made to system next chapter. Additionally, I debated having Mirror showcase the Survive card for Knight, but decided to wait until a later chapter.**


	24. Chapter 24: Dancing

**This episode will explain a few new details regarding Kamen Rider Birth, as well as how Makoto Naegi became Birth. Keep in mind Dr. Maki had been arrested prior to the start of the story, and Kazuichi picked up the work to make up for making Dark's initial Driver. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 24: The Fourth Mirror, Dancing, and the Marine Combo

"Thanks for treating us to lunch," Yuto said, "But of all places... Why an oden cart?" The Kamen Riders were sitting around an eating area where said cart was parked, waiting for information. Lately Junko and Mukuro had grown more subtle in their plans, but the latest Despair had come from Hiyoko, meaning it would seek out attention deliberately. Makoto smiled as he enjoyed his oden. "Well, my sensei during my training for Birth was a man named Akira Date, who took the job for a one-hundred million yen paycheck. Said he needed it for an operation due to a bullet lodged in his brain."

"And yet you clearly read the updated manual," Kazuichi noted. Makoto shrugged. "I figured it would be a good idea, since otherwise my performance would suffer. Anyway, Date came here for lunch breaks during training. I got used to the flavor." He stuffed an entire hard-boiled egg into his mouth. "Mmm... It always taste better after you've enjoyed the chikuwa, fried tofu, noodles, hanpen, and radish." Hajime chuckled. "Those are very average ingredients in an oden." Makoto just grinned. "Well, I'm a pretty average guy. Well, other than being more optimistic than most. If not for me being a Kamen Rider there'd really be nothing special about me."

"Don't sell yourself short," Fuyuhiko said, "It takes guts to become a Kamen Rider. But you said the manual was updated. That have anything to do with Kazuichi's upgrades?" Makoto nodded. "Originally each individual Birth CLAW required a single Cell Medal, with additional Medals being needed to increase the power. Now I can conjure any combination I want with a single Medal while thinking of what I need to use. And I make sure to have several Medal canisters, so I don't run short."

"Anyway," Juzo chimed in, "Thanks for the lunch." "Sure," Makoto replied, "After all, you guys are gonna be my senpai soon." Fuyuhiko before realizing something. "Oh yeah, you said you were the 78th Ultimate Lucky Student. That must mean you were the guy who won when the lottery was retaken." Makoto nodded. "Kinda crazy how that happened. Me and Date were getting some snacks when I saw an old man leave his phone behind as he went to the bus stop. After handing the bags to Date I followed the old man hoping to return it. But something crazy happened on the bus."

He finished the oden broth before ordering another helping. "I wound up tripping and caused a salary man's duffle bag to rip. Turns out it was filled with jewelry and the man was really a professional robber. He tried taking me hostage, but luckily I already had the Birth Driver at that point, and used it to avoid capture. During the scuffle, he fled the bus and grabbed a mailman's motorcycle. As I tried to chase him, the bike suddenly careened out of control, flinging the robber across the street while it crashed into a street lamp and exploded, burning up a letter bag and all its contents."

"One of the letters must have been the previous lottery winner's letter of acceptance into Hope's Peak Academy," Juzo realized, "But why did the bike go out of control in the first place?" "Crazy thing," Makoto replied, "As I went to inspect the crash and apprehend the robber, I saw a bent can of juice, and recognized it as one of the cans me and Date bought. Turns out the bag of snacks I handed him snagged on the zipper of my hoodie and ripped, causing the can to spill out and roll all the way to where the robber had stolen the motorcycle."

The entire group just stared at him. Akane's mouth was open, though only to place another egg in it, which had slipped out of her chopsticks and back into the broth. Kyosuke had flat out dropped his chopsticks. _'What kind of luck must this kid have?,'_ they all thought at once. The awkward scene was interrupted by Makoto's Gorilla Candroid going crazy. "Looks like our wayward Despair finally showed itself," Hajime noted, "So, who's ready to go?" "I still have a few tricks I want to show off," Makoto nodded. Yuto agreed, as did Fuyuhiko.

* * *

"To think he'd win because he became a hero," Kohichi noted, "Kids a real charmer, ain't he?" Jin smiled. "Indeed. Our list of Kamen Riders is increasing, and the fact that each of them is a current or former student of the academy is really bringing attention. Personally, I'm just glad I was able to convince the Steering Committee that luck is a viable talent, bringing up Nagito as an example." He looked out the window of his office. "Once this most recent monster is destroyed, I doubt those two will try anything until after the opening ceremony."

* * *

The Dancer's Despair was terrorizing people at a nearby park, dancing along the surface of a nearby lake. When it got to the other side, it saw the four Riders standing there, Drivers in hand. "Henshin!" _**"Skull!"**_ _**"Blancwing! Femme!"**_ _**"Gashapon Active!"**_ _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ The Despair growled before gliding over to them. "Don't think so," Skull said as he got out a new memory. _**"Skull-Jewel!"**_ Suddenly multiple Riders appeared. It took Dancer's Despair a while to realize they were just reflections of the four Riders already there, but by then it was too late.

 _ **"Sword Vent!"**_ _**"Brighton Bit! Vermillion Bucket!"**_ Mirror struck with the naginata Wing Slasher, while Birth grabbed the Despair with the orange highlighted shovel on his right arm. "By the way Mirror," Birth said, "Femme?" "One of the Riders from that era was female," Mirror said with a reserved sigh. Birth shrugged and stabbed the Despair with the blue highlighted drill on his left arm, sending it sailing across the park. It got up and began dancing, conjuring a massive windstorm. It launched at the group, Skull and Mirror stepping in to block. _**"Skull-Air!"**_ _**"Guard Vent!"**_ Skull used the Air Memory to control the wave to the point that Mirror's Wing Shield could deflect it.

Dancer's Despair took the chance to leap further back towards the lake. "Great, now it'll try using the water against us," Skull said, clearly annoyed. "Then I think it's time to bust out a brand new combo," OOO said, getting out a full set of blue Core Medals. "Go for it," Birth said, "We'll back you up." OOO nodded, and slotted the Medals in. _**"Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!"**_ As the Despair reached the lake and delicately landed on the surface, it saw OOO, now in a blue form, dive into the water, only to rise up with an uppercut to strike the Despair.

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - Shout Out)

The Despair growled as it recovered from the attack, and used its dances to control the waves to attack OOO. To its horror, the wave passed harmlessly through OOO, who laughed as he demonstrated his ability to harmlessly liquefy himself for greater flexibility. He quickly grabbed the Despair with his Unagi whips and dragged it under, striking it multiple times with the Tako legs before kicking it towards the shore. Mirror took the chance to slot in a card while Birth loaded his Birth Buster. _**"Advent!"**_ Dancer's Despair was hit with a double dose from both Blancwing, a swan-like creature, and the rapid-fire of the Birth Buster.

As the creature got up, Mirror, Skull, and Birth set up for their finishers. _**"Final Vent!"**_ _**"Skull! Maximum Drive!"**_ _**"Birth DAY!"**_ As Birth was equipped with all six of his CLAWs, Blancwing appeared behind Dancer's Despair and blasted it with a powerful gale, launching toward Mirror. "Misty Slash!" As the Despair got slashed up, Skull and Birth took their shots. "Skull Punisher!" "Cell Burst!" The two attacks launched Dancer's Despair back to OOO, who swiped his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ His lower body liquefied and propelled him upward, where he used his whips to grab the Despair while his Tako legs turned into a makeshift drill.

As OOO came down on the Dancer's Despair, he called out, "Octo Banish!" The Despair was destroyed on contact. As the Cell Medals sank into the lake, Birth activated another CLAW. _**"Springer Haken!"**_ A green highlighted industrial crane emerged from his arm, which he tossed into the lake. When he reeled it in, its magnetic properties had retrieved most if not all of the Medals. "Waste not want not," Birth noted, the others laughing at another job well done before heading off to see how Hiyoko was doing now that the Despair was destroyed.

* * *

The next day, Junko and Mukuro were standing before the gates to Hope's Peak Academy. "Looks like we'll finally have the chance to work on our plans," Mukuro noted. Junko nodded with a smile. "It's been a rough uphill battle, and I doubt those Kamen Riders will stop interfering now, but once we have all the pieces in place, things should move smoothly." She took a look at their new classmates. They seemed like a friendly sort, though she frowned when she saw one young man showing a young woman a familiar Driver. "Could that man be Brith?," Junko asked under her breath. Before the question could be answered, there was a hearty call of, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

* * *

Hiyoko was able to hold strong after the "murder" of her best friend Mahiru during the time of The Tragedy. The trial involved was really hard on her, especially since she had clearly been framed for Mahiru's death. However, after seeing what Peko was trying to accomplish, and how the results tore up Fuyuhiko, she swore to get stronger for everyone's sake. This was reinforced when she found out Mahiru wasn't actually dead. It was the only happy thing she got that topped getting her more adult body back.

To be continued...

 **So, next chapter the new year starts, and we have more crazy things happening. From now on, Junko's releasing of Despair monsters will be to cover up her experiments in preparation for her intended Tragedy. Let's see how well it goes. Read and review.**


	25. Chapter 25: Detective

**We've gone through twenty-four chapters of this story so far, and now we're introducing the characters from the very first Danganronpa. Man, was that a psychological thrill-ride. By the way, big announcement. Events during the second year will coincide with events for a new story I'm writing, a Persona 5/Akiba's Trip crossover. Look forward to it. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 25: The Fifth Mirror, a Detective, and the New Year

Makoto took a deep breath of pride. As he stepped into the main hall of Hope's Peak Academy, he saw the remaining students all there, save for one. "Oh hey," said one young man, who Makoto recognized as Yasuhiro Hagakure, the Ultimate Clairvoyant. Makoto had already been briefed on his classmates and their talents by Kogami. Makoto remembered Yasuhiro had to skip two years of school due hiding from the Yakuza, and made a personal note to speak with Fuyuhiko about clearing that up. "So," said another student, identified as Hifumi Yamada, "Is this everyone?" Hifumi was the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, not only skilled enough to do all the work on his doujin himself, but also created a work so spectacular he sold ten-thousand copies of it at a school festival.

"Not quite," came the voice of Kiyotaka Ishimaru, "Hope's Peak Academy regulations dictate that all classes have at least sixteen students, and we seem to be short one." No surprise that Kiyotaka was supposed to be the Ultimate Moral Compass, a straight-laced prefect during his own school life up until high school who was so good that the last school he was in boasted perfect attendance. Makoto then spotted Mukuro, who had been given the title of Ultimate Soldier. Given her history with the mercenary group Fenrir, it fit, but he had yet to fight her personally as Birth to gauge whether her strength as an Armored Rider matched her reputation.

"Hey there," said Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer, "I think I've seen you before. Have you ever worked at the Kogami Foundation?" Makoto chuckled. Of course Chihiro would know of that. Having been working on computer programming since he was a child, Chihiro had worked with many major companies, Kogami included. Makoto wondered if he should mention Chihiro being a young man who was cross-dressing, but decided against it due to Chihiro's reasons being personal. "Actually, yes," Makoto replied, "I have been doing work with that company."

He observed Hifumi speaking with a woman named Celestia Ludenberg, who was known as the Ultimate Gambler. According to Kogami, her real name was Taeko Yasuhiro, a fact that amused Makoto greatly. Still, she was scouted due to her incredible gambling skills, at one point winning the equivalent of ten million American dollars, approximately one billion yen. She was well known in the underground circuits as the "Queen of Liars". Makoto then spotted Kiyotaka getting into an argument with another student, Mondo Owada, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader.

It was inevitable. Kiyotaka's sense of morality would easily clash with the more street tough Mondo, the current leader of the Crazy Diamonds, Japan's biggest biker gang. Though he did notice Chihiro managing to break up the fight rather easily just by admonishing the two of them. Also joining in breaking up the fight was Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star. If Makoto was remembering correctly, Leon was already well acquainted with their upperclassman Nekomaru. He was certain that Leon's baseball skills were legit, being a star pitcher on his team.

"Oh hey there," came a young woman's voice. Makoto recognized it as Aoi Asahina, the Ultimate Swimming Pro. "I overheard you saying you worked with Kogami?," Aoi asked, "'Cause I've also been asked to do some work with him. Something about a drive system, or something like that?" _'A possible new Rider ally?,'_ Makoto wondered. Regardless, he knew Aoi was a champion level swimmer and also a member of five other sports clubs at her own school. She was even set to represent Japan in the Olympics in the near future. Aoi soon got to talking excitedly with Sakura Ogami, the Ultimate Martial Artist.

Makoto remembered Hajime mentioning how Sakura's father had trained him in martial arts, and Sakura was reportedly even stronger, maintaining a 400-win MMA streak. Alone in a corner of the entrance hall, Makoto spotted Toko Fukawa, the Ultimate Writing Prodigy. Most well known for her romance novels, her latest work, 'So Lingers the Ocean', was good enough to make high school girls find fishermen desirable for a while. Her appearance didn't really live up to people's imagination, but Makoto knew from experience that it was never a good idea to judge a book by its cover.

Kogami had mentioned a secret regarding Toko. He gave no details, only that it could prove useful to their cause. "Excuse me," another young man said as he approached Makoto. This was Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. "You said earlier you do work for the Kogami Foundation. Out of curiosity, how much is Kosei paying you?" "Oh that," Makoto said, "It's about a million yen per job." Byakuya gave a look that indicated he was impressed, something rare for him. "Rather generous of him. You must possess considerable skill."

Makoto grinned. Even among Ultimates, Byakuya was in a league of his own. The Togami Empire had an interesting, yet quite effective means of producing strong heirs from one generation to the next. They disliked inbreeding, and instead went in the completely opposite direction, the head of the family having numerous high-quality partners from across the world, with the potential successors competing to see who would be the next heir. And apparently, Byakuya, the current heir, was the youngest of his generation, a first in the family.

"Interesting," said a young woman who approached, "I wonder what sort of job pays out so well." This was Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective and the daughter of the academy's headmaster, Jin Kirigiri. Her family had a history of famous detectives, and Kyoko was said to be an excellent detective in her own right, rivaling the legendary Detective Prince Naoto Shirogane. He then heard a voice he never thought he'd hear. "Makoto? Is that really you?" He smiled as he turned around. Sure enough, there was Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation.

Sayaka was blessed with a mesmerizing voice and was the leader of Japan's most popular idol group, the Kawaii Choir. Also, Makoto had gone to middle school with her. "I can't believe we're meeting here," Sayaka said, clearly excited, "I finally get to talk to you." Makoto blinked. "So wait... You actually remember me?" Sayaka giggled. "Well of course, we did go to school together for three years." "Yeah," Makoto said with a shrug, "But we never really got to know each other." What he didn't realize was that his newfound confidence from becoming a Kamen Rider was showing in his speech and body language, causing Sayaka to blush.

As Makoto showed Sayaka his Birth Driver, the final student, and the one Junko was expecting, showed up. "All right! Cover you butts people, 'cause Junko Enoshima's ready for her epic entrance!" Makoto noticed Junko glare at him and he realized he was still showing off his Driver. Not that he cared. Suddenly there was a call of, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The group of students turned to see Kogami standing in the entrance hall, with Erika and Goto nearby, a large cake in-between them with the words "Happy Birthday 78th Class of Hope's Peak Academy".

Most of the students looked confused, only Makoto, Byakuya, Chihiro, and Aoi understanding what Kogami was trying to accomplish. "Dude," Leon said, "Is it even any of our birthdays?" Yasuhiro just helped himself to a slice. "Who cares about that? Free cake, man." Kogami chuckled. "This is to celebrate your birth as students of Hope's Peak Academy." Makoto shrugged at Sayaka's confused expression. "He's a bit eccentric, but he truly does have humanity's best interests at heart." Sayaka just smiled and nodded as the whole group, even Junko, enjoyed the cake.

* * *

Junko was so brought to tears by the taste, she was still taking about it a few days later. Finally, she was able to get her focus back as she and Mukuro got ready for their next move. "Now that we have the resources we need," she noted, "We can start with our plans. I have the rough draft all written out, now we just need to iron out the details. And to start, we need to perform a little experiment." Mukuro nodded. "So, what's the first move?" Junko smiled as she revealed a document.

"Good and bad news for this," Junko said, "Bad news is the Reserve Course is less malleable than I was hoping, meaning we'll need to almost rely on some mass brainwashing to convert them. And finding the means will take a while. They're more like a wolf pack than a herd of sheep. Good news is they still work for Ultimates, only now its voluntary, as they use it as a means of furthering their own goals. I managed to swipe this document from a student working with Yasuke." Her tone seemed to break towards the end.

After shaking herself out of it, she continued. "Still nothing on his memory alteration procedure, but I was able to find the full procedure for the seamless lobotomy. I'll track down an Ultimate that's still viable for the Black Medals, then lure them into the hospital wing. From there I'll create the Despair and have you destroy it. While the victim is still recovering I'll perform the procedure and see if the results are what we need." Mukuro looked confused. "Why not just kidnap someone who's already been affected?" "As good an idea as that is," Junko noted, "There's one problem with it. Most of the Kamen Riders are students in the academy, and they know about us."

Mukuro nodded in understanding. While the Kamen Riders wouldn't go out of their way to hunt down the two sisters, knowing that any proof they had regarding them would be rejected by the Steering Committee, they would recognize it if Junko was trying to lure in a former victim for some sort of experiment. Their best chance for success was to use a fresh victim. "The procedure will still take some time," Junko said, "And I'll be using one of my normal Medals for the experiment, so you'll have to come back when I call you. And I know just who to use for the distraction." She held up a picture of Peko.

* * *

Kyoko walked through the hallway, a little distracted. Shortly after the entrance ceremony, she had immediately confronted her father, only to find Jin holding a picture of him and her when she was a little girl. Her ever-analytical mind pieced together that Jin still cared deeply for her, and what was meant to be an angry berating turned into a tearful Q&A as to why Jin left in the first place. After that, she threw herself into her current investigation. "That Akechi is so useless. Yes, the cause of these being supernatural is valid given the world we live in, but he's far too vague about it."

She was so distracted that she wound up bumping into Makoto, causing her to drop her files while he dropped his carrying case. As his Gorilla Candroid scurried to pick up the dropped Cell Medals, Makoto helped Kyoko pick up her dropped case files. Taking a look at one, he noted, "Mental shutdown cases?" "A bizarre series of incidents involving people literally shuting down and committing acts they normally wouldn't," Kyoko stated, "Recent events include a subway driver inexplicably driving his train out of control, causing serious injury to over fifty passengers. No fatalities thankfully, but the incident may cause the Minister of Transportation to resign."

Makoto nodded as he went for another file, Kyoko absentmindedly reaching for the same one. Their hands touched briefly, causing them to pull away, Kyoko actually blushing. "Sorry...," she muttered, "I've been distracted recently. My efforts to cut ties with my father wound up getting derailed... And that was too soon... And my workings with the so-called 'second Detective Prince' Goro Akechi aren't helping matters. Honestly, he's nothing compared to Naoto." "You seem to hold her in high regard," Makoto noted.

Kyoko nodded. "The Kirigiri family and the Shirogane family have both been in the detective business for quite some time and share a friendly rivalry. Naoto has been equal parts inspiration and rival to me since childhood." Suddenly, the Gorilla Candroid started going crazy. "Ho boy, looks like I'm on the clock," Makoto said, grabbing his Driver and the Cell Medals canisters. Kyoko then noticed the open case also has another Driver, very different from Makoto's, and thirteen USB-looking devices. Seeing a manual nearby, she grabbed it and noted the cover said "Kamen Rider Joker".

* * *

Brith came in to see OOO tangling with the newly created Swordswoman's Despair, their sword duel being punctuated by the occasional shot from Skull. "Is Peko alright?," Birth asked, concerned. He had earlier been told about Skull's relationship with her. "Barely," Skull replied, "But until that monster's dealt with she ain't waking up." As OOO knocked the Despair aside with his Medajalibur, Yuto came in on his Ridevendor and readied another Card Case. "Henshin!" _**"Evildiver! Raia!"**_ "OOO," Mirror called out as he held up a card, "Need a second blade?"

"Thought crossed my mind," OOO mentioned as he and the Despair clashed again. Mirror slotted the card into his shield-like Visor. _**"Copy Vent!"**_ The group looked on as the Medajalibur manifested a transparent look-alike, which flew into Mirror's hand and became solid. He used this copy to take Swordswoman's Despair by surprise, slashing it and knocking it backwards. Noticing the creature coming for him, Birth readied one of his CLAWs. _**"Haze Crawlers!"**_ Birth used the purple highlighted caterpillar treads to kick the Despair and grind into it, dislodging many Cell Medals which stuck to the treads.

As the monster recovered, the group heard another Ridevendor coming in. "I thought it was just the four of us," Mirror noted. Birth gasped when he saw Kyoko was the one riding. "You guys aren't very subtle in how you operate," she noted, holding up Driver she left behind, "Don't worry, I read the manual." Birth chuckled. "That's the J Diver Kogami had invented. It's basically a reverse version of the Lost Driver Skull uses." Kyoko slipped on the Driver and held up the main Gaia Memory. "Henshin!" She immediately inserted the Memory and flipped it into position. _**"Joker!"**_

Now donned in the purple armor of Kamen Rider Joker, Kyoko pointed at the Despair. "Now... Count up your crimes." She immediately rushed in and delivered two strong blows to the Despair while it was still stunned from earlier. Before it could recover, Joker pulled out another Memory. "This one should even the playing field." _**"Sword-Joker!"**_ She swung the giant sword around as if it were light as a feather, dealing good damage. Seeing a chance to attack, OOO swapped out for a combo. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_

The Despair was blindsided by the storm of feathers OOO shot out, as Joker went for a more specialized and faster Memory. _**"Pirate-Joker!"**_ Using the new Memory, Joker blocked an attack from the Despair with her cutlass, then blasted it with the flintlock she also carried. Mirror joined in, slotting a card to contain the Despair. _**"Swing Vent!"**_ A quick lash from the Evil Whip and Swordswoman's Despair sword arm was useless, leaving her wide open to Skull and Birth's gunfire. The Despair quickly broke off, only to have Mirror slot another card while Joker swapped Memories. _**"Advent!"**_ _**"Nasca-Joker!"**_

Joker used her new speed and sword-skills to knock the Despair into the stringray-like Evildiver. "One last attack to finish it," Mirror noted, slotting his next card. _**"Final Vent!"**_ He leapt onto Evildiver's back as it approached Swordswoman's Despair. "Hide Venom!" The attack sent the Despair sprawling, but it still somehow survived. Before any further damage could be done, a sudden hail of gunfire from Fenrir got the Riders scattering. "Come on Despair, we still need to buy some more time." The Despair nodded and leapt after Fenrir. "You ain't getting away so easily," Skull muttered as he opened a few Candroids and sent them to track the two escapees, "I ain't gonna lose Peko to the likes of you."

* * *

During the time of the Tragedy, Kyoko used her newfound Kamen Rider powers for the sake of those that were suffering. By now the growing number of Riders was causing them to be a separate faction from the Future Foundation, yet Kyoko and Makoto still got caught up in the Final Killing Game. However, one of Kyoko's Gaia Memories rendered her immune to poison. She also was a lot warmer with Makoto during the School Killing Game, sharing much information with him. Beyond that, her fate didn't need much changing.

To be continued...

 **Cliffhangers Joel, cliffhangers... Sorry. Anyway, keep an eye for the prologue of my Persona 5 fic. Read and review.**


	26. Chapter 26: Swordsmanship

**Yes I recognize that two characters in two interconnected stories have the same title. But also keep in mind that there is a difference between Phantom Thief Joker and Kamen Rider Joker. Also, regarding The Nine Phantom Thieves, I will be explaining what saved Shiho during the first chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 26: The Sixth Mirror, Swordsmanship, and the Advancing Plan

Junko had managed to lure in Santa Shikiba, the Ultimate Botanist, into a trap so that she could subject him to the experiment. The first step was creating and then destroying the Despair that could be made from him. Junko smiled when she found him a viable candidate. _'This would have made all of Mukuro's efforts for nothing if he wasn't still capable of falling to despair.'_ She placed in the Medal, bringing forth the Botanist's Despair. She then called up her sister. "Mukuro, we have it. Return at once so we may proceed. The other Despair is expendable now."

* * *

Meanwhile, Mirror had somehow gotten separated from the other Riders while chasing the Despair and Fenrir through Tokyo. Sighing, he said, "Looks like even when I stand out I can blend in." He looked around, realizing he was somewhere in Aoyama-Itchome, right near the local high school. As he was about to contact the other Riders, he heard a commotion, and gasped when he saw a female student had climbed the fence on the roof. From the look of it, she was planning to jump. Mirror quickly got out another of his Card Cases, which were clipped to his belt. _**"Biogreeza! Verde!"**_

Without missing a beat, Mirror clipped a card to a wire coming out of the chameleon head Visor attached to his leg, slotting it in. _**"Clear Vent!"**_ Mirror then leaped down to the courtyard, leaping up when he saw the girl jump off the ledge. He managed to catch her, and carefully rolled so he wouldn't accidentally break her neck or limbs. From the look of it, she would only suffer some minor injuries. Mirror then leapt back up to the roof before other students swarmed the courtyard. It was the reason he had used the Clear Vent card, so that he could escape and try to reconnect with the other Kamen Riders without being swarmed.

He nodded in satisfaction as the girl was taken to the hospital, looking downtrodden but otherwise fine. _'Looks like all she'll really need is some rest and therapy.'_ He then heard a call from his Batta Candroid. 'Mirror, we've corned the Despair,' came Joker's voice. "I'm on my way," Mirror replied, "Just got held up for a second." The good thing about these Batta Candroids was that they could easily lead a person to whoever was on the other end. Mirror tossed out his Bio-Winder yoyo and zipped through the urban area.

* * *

Mirror arrived just in time to see the other Riders fighting against the Swordswoman's Despair. _**"Skull-Knight!"**_ _**"Pirate-Joker!"**_ The Despair was doing an impressive job of holding off the two Kamen Riders, but Mirror noticed Fenrir was nowhere nearby. Mirror saw Birth activating his CLAWs, and decided to slot in a new card. _**"Solent Edges! Vermillion Bucket!"**_ _**"Copy Vent!"**_ In addition to the shovel on Birth's left arm, a set of yellow-highlighted wings appeared on his back. As Birth removed the wings to use as a boomerang blade, both it and the Vermillion Bucket were copied for Mirror to use.

The Despair managed to break off from Joker and Skull and dodge the twin attacks, only to be struck OOO and his Tora claws. Mirror then slotted another card as Birth threw the Solent Edges. _**"Hold Vent!"**_ The Despair dodged the first attack from the throw, but Mirror's Bio-Winder wrapped around it, keeping it trapped long enough for the return trip of the boomerang-like wings. Seeing the creature was still trapped, Joker got out another Memory to use. _**"Violence-Joker!"**_ The Swordswoman's Despair was helpless against the barrage of attacks Joker unleashed, enhanced by the Violence Memory's boosted strength.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fenrir had arrived at Junko's location. _"Those Riders have already cornered the Despair we made from Peko Pekoyama. It's only a matter of time, I suppose."_ Junko shrugged. "So long as our own plans progress at an acceptable rate. So, you ready to see how our experiment holds?" Fenrir nodded, and hypercharged her sidearm, using it to destroy the Botanist's Despair. "Even if things don't proceed they way we want them to," Junko said as she scooped up the Cell Medals, "It'll give us more foot soldiers, should we require them." She smiled as she turned on the machine Santa was hooked up to.

* * *

The Swordswoman's Despair tried focusing on OOO, who was finding it more difficult to evade the creature's strikes until he got an idea and swapped out his Medals. _**"Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!"**_ His new form allowed him to effortlessly tank the Despair's attacks due to his semi-liquid form, which Joker took advantage of. _**"Weather-Joker!"**_ She waited until the Despair once again swung its blade through OOO, then launched a lightning attack through his liquid form. The electric current was enhanced by the water and traveled through the metal blade, shocking the Despair and tossing it back. OOO rolled his shoulders a bit as he shook off the tingle. "Warn a guy next time...," he muttered.

The Despair also managed to recover somewhat, attempting some sort of special sword move. "Not so fast," Mirror said as he slotted a card. _**"Advent!"**_ The card summoned humanoid chameleon, which immediately wrapped its tongue around the Despair's sword arm, trapping it. As it tried to free itself, Birth used the distraction to attack it with a quick fly-by via the Solent Edges. Mirror then slotted in his final card. _**"Final Vent!"**_ Biogreeza leapt to a nearby tree, wrapping its tongue around Mirror's legs. Dangled upside down, Mirror was swung towards Swordswoman's Despair, grabbing it as he came close.

"Death Punish!," Mirror called out as he slammed the Despair head-first into the ground. While the Despair was vulnerable, OOO swiped his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ OOO's Unagi whips grabbed the Despair as he shot himself into the air, coming down with his Tako legs turning into a drill. "Octo Banish!" With this attack, the Swordswoman's Despair was finally destroyed, scattering Cell Medals across the area. "Well, at least this means I was able to help Peko, albeit with some help," Skull noted, "But I still can't help but wonder why Fenrir choose to cut and run right when she did?"

* * *

Junko shook her head in frustration as Santa walked out of the room in a daze. It wouldn't be long before Yasuke picked up on something wrong with him and undid Junko's damage, and that was the problem. "This experiment is a bust. Without the susceptibility to despair the lobotomy cannot mold a subject to our way of thinking, no matter how much we change their personality." Mukuro sighed. "So in the end this avenue is closed to us. Just great, and after I've already done my research on Chisa Yukizome." Junko nodded. "This was my fault for targeting her first. I thought it could jumpstart my plans."

"And then OOO stepped in," Mukuro said, "And he's been a real thorn ever since. Is there anything else we can use? I know you have other things you wanted to test." "Sure," Junko replied, "First there's the fact that I want to investigate the Ultimate Animator, Ryota Mitarai. He may have grown a spine, but his talent can still be useful to us. We also still have access to Yasuke's memory alteration procedure, which can still work for us. We're down, but not out. However, with a new Kamen Rider in the picture, we may need some backup. Time to talk to that sweet young girl from my babysitting gig." Mukuro raised an eyebrow.

* * *

When Peko was trapped in the Island Killing Game during the time of The Tragedy, she remembered the length's Fuyuhiko went to keep her from self-destructing. This prevented her from killing Mahiru in a misguided attempt to free Fuyuhiko, but both of them were shocked when Mahiru, completely broken by the pictures she had been shown, committed suicide. They still had to go through the trial to prove it, but it all worked out when it was revealed that Mahiru wasn't really dead due to the virtual nature of the game. When the Tragedy ended, Peko and Fuyuhiko soon found a new life for themselves, protecting each other.

To be continued...

 **Yep. Sometimes my story's can overlap. Anyway, I hope this proves I haven't forgotten this story. I'll continue to work on both stories as need be. Read and review.**


	27. Chapter 27: Prodigy

**Sorry this took so long, but those of you who read The Nine Phantom Thieves will know those chapters are long, like whole novel long. But I am dedicated to this project, and so. Now this chapter and the one following correspond to the 40th anniversary of Kamen Rider (which was celebrated during Kamen Rider OOO run) and the 1000th overall episode (Episode 28 of Kamen Rider OOO). Due to the timeline I have in mind, that's not something feasible in-universe. So I came up with an alternative that can still work for the narrative. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 27: The Seventh Mirror, the Prodigy, and the Milestone

Hajime greeted Ryota as he came to the academy. "Hey, how was the Madarame exhibit?," Hajime asked. Ryota shook his head. "Disappointing. Most of the patrons were casual observers so they couldn't see it, but there was no real consistency in Madarame's work. I wasn't the only one to notice either, there were two guys around our age who also picked up on it." He looked around and noticed most of the Kamen Riders were assembled, save for Kyoko. "Hey, where's Kyoko?"

That's when Kyoko came rushing in. "Sorry I'm late," she said, a little out of breath, "A recent incident at Shujin Academy in Aoyama-Itchome had the SIU scrambling, and they had me and Akechi work overtime due to a possible connection with the mental shutdown case." "What happened?," Kyosuke asked, and eyebrow raised. "Well, during a public assembly at the school," Kyoko explained, "A phys ed teacher by the name of Suguru Kamoshida up and confessed to multiple accounts of both physical and sexual abuse, blackmail of students, and abuse of authority. The odd thing is, this was found a few days before his sudden change in demeanor."

She revealed a red card with a stylized logo resembling a hat and mask with the words "Take Your Heart" painted under it. "Whoever sent this card knew about Kamoshida's crimes," Kyoko said, "And they somehow got him to confess everything. But there's no evidence he was blackmailed, tortured, or brainwashed. And there were dozens of these cards all over the bulletin boards at Shujin. SIU wants to look into these Phantoms possibly being students. Plausible, perhaps, but I think it's a waste of time regardless."

"Well," Hajime said, "Let's put it aside for now. Detective work is your department, but our group as a whole need to focus on Dark and Fenrir. To that end, I have two announcements. First, Kogami has just informed me we have a new Kamen Rider joining our ranks." Into the room, right behind Kyoko, walked Byakuya. "Before any of you ask... No, I did not buy my way into this! I simply passed all the physical requirements necessary for an old Rider system Kazuichi perfected."

"Oh yeah," Kazuichi realized, "The Ixa System." Sonia looked confused. "Ixa? That's not a word I know of." "It's actually an acronym," Kazuichi explained, "Short for Intercept X Attacker. It was originally developed years ago to combat the Fangire. I didn't need to do much, just fix the annoyingly broken audio program. Now it sounds more streamlined." "I'm normally not used to working in a group," Byakuya admitted, "But I'm still a novice as a Rider, and must therefore defer to each of you, who have much more experience. I hope you will meet my expectations."

Hajime coughed, getting back control of the meeting. "Anyway, the second announcement is in regards to Kamen Riders in general. There have been many Kamen Riders before us, and from what I understand we are quickly becoming the largest gathering of Kamen Riders ever assembled. And we're coming close to a real milestone, just one shy of defeating one-thousand kaijin." "That does sound exciting!," Sonia said, her eyes lit up. "Which is why we're making a movie in celebration of it!," came a new voice.

Makoto recognized it immediately. "Date? What are you doing here?" Date smiled. "Kogami hired me to make a movie celebrating the best of Kamen Rider history. To that end, let me introduce a fragment of the past." An middle-aged man walked into the room and bowed. "Hello, my name is In Sendo." "Sendo here is a former member of Shocker," Date explained, "The corporation who fought against the very first Kamen Rider." "That's surprising," Akane asked, "Just what role did you play?" "I was but a humble Combatman," Sendo said, a hint of pride in his voice, "One of many who were sent to try and overwhelm Kamen Rider 1 with numbers. I sadly had to retire as Shocker moved towards more... Inhuman agents."

"Sendo will be providing us with the monsters for our movie," Date said, "With a little help from a friend." "That would be me," came the voice of Mezool as she also entered, "Sendo's greatest desire is to create a small squadron of kaijin, one that could, at the very least, provide a real challenge for any Kamen Rider." Sendo nodded with a smile. "I've long since been resigned to the fact that there is no force of evil out there that could ever defeat a Kamen Rider. But lately I've noticed how more and more powerful Kamen Riders have easily defeated each new kaijin, no matter what species they are."

"It's really a win-win," Mezool noted, "We get save plenty on special effects, one Cell Medal in exchange for thousands of dollars in full-body costumes, and me and my fellow Greeed will have enough Cell Medals that we can squirrel some away for the new Greeed Hajime is converting to the side of desire." She took out the Cell Medal in question, throwing into the slot in Sendo's forehead. "Oh, so that's how it works," Sonia said, interested. "Sendo's unique desires will create some unique Yummies," Mezool said, excited, "They should be fully grown by the time we're ready to begin shooting."

* * *

"A Kamen Rider movie?," said the little girl, Monaca Towa, who was now visited by Junko and Mukuro, "That actually sounds exciting. I think my friends would really enjoy it." "I gotta admit," Junko said, "It does sound like fun." Mukuro was still curious about something. "Why would someone like you have a babysitting job?" "What can I say, I love kids," Junko said, "Plus, Monaca's friends come from broken homes. And I mean really broken homes. I just gave them the love and attention their folks never did." Mukuro nodded, understanding her sister.

* * *

As Mezool promised, the Kaijin Yummies were completed within a few hours, just as production was ready to get underway. The nest spawned from Sendo's desires not only brought the first kaijin from each enemy faced by a Kamen Rider, but numerous Combatmen, with Sendo happily donning his old uniform once again and saluting with a tearful, "EEEEE!" "There certainly have been a wide variety of kaijin fought by Kamen Rider's over the years," Juzo noted. Sendo nodded. "And while each could reasonably be defeated by any Kamen Rider, their appearance has inspired the creation of newer and more advanced systems."

He pointed to each kaijin in turn. "Spider Man, and not the Marvel superhero either. Sasoritokages. Scissors Jaguar. Neptune. Spider Beastman. Bee Beastman. Kikkaijin Gangaru. Staff Officer Steel. Gameleojin. Fire Kong. Killer Knife. Spider Mutant. Skullma. Zu-Gumun-Ba. Pantheras Luteus. Dispider. Stingfish Orphnoch. Bat Undead. Tsuchigumo. Aracnea Worm Rubor. Bat Imagin. Horse Fangire. Magma Dopant. And finally, Kamakiri Yummy." "Boy does that last one take me back," Hajime said, smiling.

"This line-up seems incomplete," Kyoko noted, "Where's the first Despair Hajime fought?" "No, don't summon it!," came Chisa's frantic voice as she ran onto the set, panting heavily. "I wasn't about to," Sendo said, a little confused, "Those Despairs are nothing more than horrid mockeries of the Yummies. Evil should always exist with some sort of clear purpose, or else it will only collapse in on itself before it can face honorable defeat at the hands of a hero." "Not that I'm not glad to see you," Kyosuke chimed in, "But what are you even doing here, Chisa?"

"I wanted to cheer on my students of course," Chisa said, "And you and Juzo as well." Kyosuke smiled. "Oh really? In that order, or not?" Chisa blushed. "That's... Not an easy question to answer." "Okay people," Date said over his bullhorn, "Let's get ready for shooting. Riders ready for Henshin." The Kamen Riders set up their Drivers, Byakuya getting out a knuckle duster shaped like a flat fist and pressed his other hand against a button on the edge. The Combatmen Yummies got into position, ready for what they were originally created for.

Date signaled the camera. "And ready in three... Two... One..." "Henshin!" _**"Fist On!" "Dragreder! Ryuki!" "Sword Form!" "Joker!" "Skull!" "All Magic!" "Chu!" "Mode: Liger!" "Mighty Form!" "Kamen Ride! Decade!" "Style: Avian!" "Gashapon Active!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ During the shoot, Date wanted a few classic fights. Ixa was up against the Horse Fangire Yummy. He pulled out something that surprised Kivala, a Fuestle, and slotted it into his Driver. _**"Garulu Saber!"**_ The Fuestle conjured a blue saber with a wolf motif.

After a few slashes, Ixa swapped to a different Fuestle. _**"Basshaa Magnum!"**_ The Fuestle summoned a revolver with a marine theme, which Ixa used to blast the Fangire. Finally, he pulled out one last Fuestle. _**"Dogga Hammer!"**_ The hammer summoned resembled a giant fist, which Ixa used to smash the Fangire before causing the fist to open, revealing a giant eye which destroyed the Kaijin Yummy with psychic waves. "I don't believe my predecessor used those last two Fuestles," Ixa noted, "Shame, because they seem to work rather well."

For the next shoot, Mirror fought against the Dispider. As the Mirror Monster attacked, Mirror slotted a card into the dragon-head Visor on his arm. _**"Guard Vent!"**_ The card manifested the Drag Shields on Mirror's arms, letting him block the attack. As he dodged a few more attacks, he slotted another card. _**"Sword Vent!"**_ Mirror grabbed his Drag Saber and parried the Dispider's limbs, getting in a few hits as he slotted another card. _**"Strike Vent!"**_ This summoned the Drag Claw, which Mirror rammed into the Dispider, knocking it aside.

"Mahiru," Date said, "Bring the camera back. We'll need a wider shot for the Contract Monster's appearance." _**"Advent!"**_ Mirror's next card summoned out Dragreder, and massive serpentine dragon, who breathed powerful flames on the Mirror Monster. As the Dispider tried to right itself, Mirror said, "Time to finish this." He got out a final card and slotted it. _**"Final Vent!"**_ Dragreder circled behind Mirror as he lifted up and came down onto the Mirror Monster, being propelled by Dragreder's flames. "Dragon Rider Kick!" The kick completely destroyed the Kaijin Yummy, leaving the coins scattering.

OOO clashed a few times with the Kamakiri Yummy, who looked surprised at his newfound skills. "Don't get too cocky," OOO quipped, "I've learned a few things since we last fought." To prove his point, he swapped out his Medals. _**"Taka! Unagi! Tako!"**_ OOO grabbed the Yummy with his whips and leaped into the nearby pool with him. "OOO, let's see a combo," Date said. OOO grinned beneath his helmet. "Here's one I've been using a lot lately." _**"Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!"**_ The Kamakiri Yummy recovered, it was a shallow pool, and tried slashing at OOO.

To its surprise, OOO's newfound liquid state proved impossible to get around. "It's like a Logia fruit from One Piece," Chisa noted. "Well this is fun," OOO said, "But this movie can't run all day." _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ He grabbed the Yummy with his whips as he propelled himself into the air. Coming down with his Tako legs in the shape of a drill, he called out, "Octo Banish!" "Great angle on that," Mahiru said as she watched the Yummy explode into Medals, "So that's how fights against Yummies went. They knew a lot more about tactics than the Despair."

Meanwhile, Sendo watched in awe as Joker stared down the Combatmen Yummies, slotting the Joker Memory into a holder on her belt. _**"Joker! Maximum Drive!"**_ "Rider Kick!" A quick leap into the air, and Joker came down with a flying kick, destroying a group of Yummies. Sendo started tearing up. "I never thought I would ever again lay eyes on a classic Rider Kick." He looked at the smirks on Chisa and Date. "Don't get me wrong," Sendo said, "The newer, flashier Rider Kicks certainly get the job done, but its the nostalgia factor that really gets me." Date nodded, smiling at how well the movie was going.

* * *

While Byakuya never let go of his sense of superiority, he did drop his elitist attitude in the time of The Tragedy. His sense of comradery with the other Riders led to him working together in an effort to prevent many deaths, though he disliked the fact that he was unable to truly affect the School Killing Game. Still, his actions as Ixa lead to very different events happening in Towa City, including being able to rely information to the other Riders during his time as a supposed hostage. While some habits die hard, Byakuya had certainly matured.

To be continued...

 **I honestly wasn't sure how to end this chapter, as due to the way it's set up it has no real structure. But I'm cool with it as it is. And next chapter... Well keep in mind that in-universe, the Kamen Riders have only destroyed 999 kaijin. Read and review.**


	28. Chapter 28: Photography

**I nearly forgot to include OOO's Medal usage last chapter. I fixed it before starting on this one. But anyway, as I said last chapter, Episode 28 of Kamen Rider OOO was episode 1000 of the Kamen Rider series overall, counting all the way back to the first Kamen Rider series. I had to improvise to emulate that, so I hope you enjoy. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 28: The Eight Mirror, Photography, and the 1000th Kaijin

Hajime and Sendo ran into each other as they returned to the shoot from the bathroom. "So Sendo," Hajime said, "What have you been doing since you left Shocker?" "Working various odd jobs," Sendo said, "Being a Combatman was about more than fighting. We were trained to perform a variety of menial tasks. Which is good, because it means I never had trouble finding work in society. Lately I've been working as janitor at the Kogami Foundation, it's how I was discovered for this movie. Kogami always runs background checks on all his employees, regardless of their position."

"I've heard Shocker tried to make a comeback several times," Hajime noted, "You ever try returning to them?" Sendo shook his head. "Not after their intention to switch to completely inhuman soldiers. Me and the few surviving Combatmen saw what happened to those that were killed by the new kaijin Shocker was using. It was clear our Great Leader had gone mad, and if the Kamen Rider didn't defeat him, his own madness would lead to his downfall." He looked at his Combatman mask. "I haven't worn this in forty years. Never had a reason to until now."

He looked at the Shocker based set. "But seeing this... The old glory days... In those days I truly believed in Shocker's goals." He teared up a little. "You know, the first Kamen Rider was supposed to be our front-line soldier. But the scientist who worked on him foresaw what the rest of us were blind to." "All actors to the set," Date said. As Hajime reactivated his transformation, he saw Mirror talking with the other Rider and went to join them. Nearby, Junko peeked into the set.

"Shocker was supposed to be the biggest force of evil ever to grace the Earth," she said, "But they're strictly small time." She held up a picture of Mahiru. If her predictions regarding film crew movement were right, and they usually were, the Ultimate Photographer would be passing by shortly. "Should have picked someone else for your cameraman," Junko said slyly. As she waited, she heard something, likely Mirror's Driver given the context, call out, _**"Goldphoenix! Odin!"**_ At first Junko was concerned she had miscalculated and they were already filming. Until she saw Mahiru start walking up to her. As she readied the Black Medal, there was another sound of, _**"Time Vent!"**_

* * *

Fenrir watched from above, waiting for the signal when she would descend and attack. The new Photographer's Despair had the power to stun any enemy with its powerful camera, meaning she could move in and defeat all those Riders without much effort. As soon as she saw the flashes, she dove into the set from the catwalks, but then noticed something. _"Where is everyone?"_ Dark moved into the set. _"That's weird... I'm sure I heard Mirror's Driver activating."_ "You did," came Mirror's voice. _**"Steal Vent!"**_ Suddenly Photographer's Despair found its camera flying out of its hands and into Mirror's.

The two Armored Riders than found themselves surrounded by thirteen Kamen Riders. _"But how?,"_ Dark said, _"How did you know about my plans?"_ "Because they worked," Mirror said, "Or at least, they had worked. But while your plan was in motion, I used this." He got out his Time Vent card. "This card lets me send myself or someone else back in time, anywhere from a day to a year depending on what I need. If its someone else I send back, I can choose whether or not they go back with their memories intact." _"Don't tell me,"_ Fenrir said in realization, _"You sent yourself back a full day."_

"You're plan caught us a little off-guard last time," OOO explained, "So Mirror used the Time Vent card to go back one day. A little earlier he was explaining this to the rest of us. As he caught up to the future, he was compelled to activate his Odin form and use the Time Vent card again to complete the loop. We then hid out of sight and waited until you two showed up, wondering how your plans could be thwarted." Mirror held up the camera. "One little Steal Vent later, and hello change in the timeline." He crushed the camera, which burst into Cell Medals.

Angered, Dark took a swipe at Mirror, who slotted a card into the Visor on his staff. _**"Guard Vent!"**_ Using the Gold Shield conjured onto his arm, Mirror blocked Dark's attack. "Date, got those cameras running?" "Yep," Date said, "Nothing like a little improv to help a story." "We need more room for this," Joker said as she got out a new Gaia Memory. _**"Zone-Joker!"**_ "Let's change the venue." In an instant, the entire area was swapped for the nearby academy grounds. She then turned her attention to Fenrir as she deactivated the Zone Memory.

"Let me handle this," Birth said, slotting a Cell Medal into his Driver, "There's something I really wanted to try." _**"CLAWs Sasori!"**_ Birth's CLAWs all manifested and separated from him, combining to take the basic shape of a scorpion. The Springer Haken and Brighton Bit formed the tail, the Salamander Launcher formed the body, the Haze Crawlers formed the legs, and the Vermillion Bucket and Solent Edges formed the claws. "Wow," Joker said, impressed, "That's pretty neat." Birth nodded. "It's got enough power to take on a Greeed."

To demonstrate, he swung his arm, causing the Sasori to swing its claw and send Fenrir sailing. Meanwhile, Mirror slotted another card to take on Dark. _**"Sword Vent!"**_ He hooked his staff to his back before grabbing the twin Gold Saber, using it to parry Dark's attacks and counter-attack. Then he noticed the remaining Kaijin Yummy approaching. "They're getting anxious," Sendo said, worried, "They smell combat and are eager to join in." "We can't focus on the real threat while they do that," Mirror noted. He took out staff to slot in a new card. _**"Advent!"**_

This summoned the majestic Goldphoenix, which flew through the group, its razor-tipped wings taking out a few of them. "Mirror," OOO said, "Let's finish this in one strike." Mirror nodded. OOO slotted in his ultimate combo. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_ He swiped his O Scanner again as Mirror slotted in another card. _**"Scanning Charge!" "Final Vent!"**_ OOO shot into the air as Goldphoenix flew in behind Mirror. "Prominence Drop!" "Eternal Chaos!" OOO dive-bombed the Kaijin Yummies while Goldphoenix erupted in a blinding light. The two attacks reduced the Yummies to Cell Medals.

"One last kaijin to deal with," OOO said, "Joker, I need some water for this." "On it," Joker said, getting out another Gaia Memory. _**"Ocean-Joker!" "Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!"**_ Every Rider, both Kamen and Armored, got out of the way of the giant pool Joker conjured with the Ocean Memory, but the Photographer's Despair was caught up in the waves. The CLAWs Sasori was effortlessly skiing on the surface, OOO lashing his whips around the joints to jet-ski closer to the Despair.

Once close enough, OOO let go and swiped the O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ He propelled himself into the air and wrapped his whips around the Despair, coming in with a diving kick. "Octo Banish!" The Despair was destroyed as the pool subsided. "And that's number 1000!," OOO said in triumph. He then saw Sendo addressing the Combatmen Yummies. "I know this is hard on all of us. And I am grateful for the memories. But Shocker's day is done. Still, I am proud to see the return of the Combatmen to arms, even temporarily. EEEEE!" "EEEEE!," the Yummies responded as they faded into Cell Medals. "And cut," Date said, "Print that. Kogami's gonna love this."

* * *

During the time of The Tragedy, Mahiru remembered something important during the Island Killing Game. The fact that the video game Monokuma presented was not based on real events as he claimed. Sure, they could have been, except she remembered Fuyuhiko's little sister was still alive, at least as far as they knew. Remembering this fact restored her hope, and stopped the Island Killing Game after just one murder. A murder that, as it turned out, wasn't even real, as she learned after being released from the New World Program.

To be continued...

 **I hope you like how this chapter was structured. I know I like how things are working out so far. But I bet a lot of you are wondering about Monaca. We'll get to her soon enough. Some things just need time to set up. Read and review.**


	29. Chapter 29: Swimming

**More time between this and the next chapter are gonna happen. Reason being two-fold. First is this story sharing a universe with "The Nine Phantom Thieves", second is Junko trying to parse out her plans. We also haven't been seeing much of Foundation X. Well, that'll change here. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 29: The Ninth Mirror, Swimming, and the Three States of Matter

Junko was busy going over her notes. Her plans were suffering setback after setback. _'I can't but feel those Black Medals have been more a hindrance than a help. Maybe I never should have bothered with them. Plus from the look of it, those old guys are having trouble with Project Kamukura.'_ At that moment, Mukuro walked into the room. "Hey, check out the news. Something crazy happened with that renowned artist." Sure enough, the news had a big segment on famous Japanese artist Ichiryusai Madarame, who confessed to crimes of plagiarism and abuse, among other things.

Junko then saw the calling card featured. "Hey, it's those Phantoms again." "Think these guys could be a threat?," Mukuro asked, "They're clearly using supernatural methods to change hearts." "The only ones who would post our names on that Phan-site are the Kamen Riders," Junko said dismissively, "And as much as I hate to admit it, they seem to have us well in hand. Let's just focus on patching the holes made in our plans for right now."

* * *

The Kamen Riders were also watching the news report. Kyoko was already in Shibuya, likely watching the report on the big jumbotron there. "These Phantoms seem to target criminals no one else even knows about," Ryota noted, "I thought there was something suspicious about Madarame's so-called art. But to think he was going to such lengths to preserve his fame, and all for the money it could bring." Makoto then heard his phone go off. Over the last few days he and Kyoko had bonded during training, to the point that they had started falling in love.

It was in fact Kyoko who was calling at that moment. 'Hate to say it, but with the Phantoms having struck twice it looks like I may be in Tokyo for a while. Try having Yasuke pick up the slack for me.' Makoto chuckled. Yasuke had been working on mostly trying to undo whatever damage Junko was causing using his research. "I can do that, but I can also tell you Kogami has been developing a new type of Driver, one that can utilize the three states of water. And you won't believe who got picked to try it."

* * *

The group was surprised to see Aoi riding around on the academy's giant pool using a jet ski, dressed in a Kamen Rider suit. "Ah, welcome," Kogami said, "I was hoping you would arrive. We are now ready to celebrate a new Birthday for our latest Kamen Rider... Kamen Rider Aqua!" "Yahoo!," Aoi called out as she caused the jet ski to leap over a barricade in the water and arrive at the side of pool. Once there, she canceled her transformation.

"Hey guys," she said, bubbly as ever, "Can you believe this? All that work Kogami wanted me to do for becoming a Kamen Rider like you guys!" "Somehow I suspected as much," Makoto said, rubbing the back of his head. Just then, all the Candroids started going crazy. "Are they supposed to do that?," Aoi asked. "Seems they've detected something using Cell Medals," Kogami said, "You had best investigate."

* * *

Hajime, Yasuke, Aoi, and Yuto hurried to where the signal was coming from. There they spotted a person in a business suit holding a Cell Medal. He grinned when he saw the group. "You must be the Kamen Riders Maki-kun told me about," he said with an evil grin. Hajime gasped. "Dr. Kyoto Maki? Is he...?" "Still in prison, no need to worry," the man said, "But he gave me something good, in exchange for dealing with a certain problem of his."

He brought the Cell Medal to his forehead, causing a coin slot to appear. He threw the slot in, which manifested a Yummy, which immediately transformed into a humanoid unicorn. The four Riders activated their Drivers in response. "Henshin!" _**"Metalgelas! Gai!" "Water State!" "Sword Form!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ The Unicorn Yummy charged at the four Riders, OOO and Den-O dodging to the side while Aqua and Mirror ducked under the attack.

Aqua quickly made a jumping spin kick powered by water, knocking the Yummy back a few feet. Den-O then came up and struck the Yummy with his sword. _'Oi, Yasuke,'_ came Momotaros' voice in Den-O's head, _'You didn't let me do my catchphrase.'_ "Kinda need to focus on the fight right now," Den-O argued, "And don't say you want to do it right now." Momotaros sighed. _'No, it's far too late for that. Just make sure to do it next time!'_ "I'll see what I can do," Den-O said with a sigh as the Unicorn Yummy broke away and started charging Mirror.

Mirror simply got out a card and slipped it into the Visor on his left shoulder. _**"Confine Vent!"**_ A series of mirror shards surrounded the Yummy in a cylindrical shape, blocking its charge. Aqua pressed a button on the right side of her Driver. _**"Vapor State!"**_ Her suit shifted to a lighter shade of blue, and she seemed to gain more speed, easily slipping through the shards to attack the Yummy. The Yummy soon broke out, but got a serious strike from OOO's Tora claws.

Aqua held her hand in the air and began charging with it. She brought her hand down, calling out, "Mist Blazer!" The bright blue mist attack ripped through the Yummy, knocking it into the air as it scattered Cell Medals. Mirror then slotted two more cards. _**"Strike Vent!" "Advent!"**_ The Strike Vent card conjured the Metal Horn, a spear-like weapon shaped like a rhino's head. Meanwhile the Advent card summoned Metalgelas, a humanoid rhinoceros that looked like it was wearing armor.

As the Yummy came down, Mirror slotted another card. _**"Final Vent!"**_ Mirror hopped onto Metalgelas' horn and rode on it, the Metal Horn extended, ready to intercept the Unicorn Yummy as it came down. "Heavy Pressure!" The attack launched the Yummy across the area. OOO ran after it, slotting in the Red Medals. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_ OOO leapt into the air, using his wings to keep airborne as he swiped the O Scanner a second time. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_

His Condor talons extended, OOO landed right on top of the Yummy. "Prominence Drop!" The landing attack caused the Yummy to be destroyed, bursting into Cell Medals as it was. The man was about to run for it, when he found himself stopped by Birth. "Well if it isn't the same jewel robber from before," he said, "Looks like my luck exceeds yours." The man grinned and pressed a button on a device in his pocket. After a few seconds, nothing seemed to be happening.

Confused, the man got out the device which turned out to be his phone. It was already set to speed-dial for Maki's phone. "Oh," Birth said, "This must be about the explosive Kazuichi removed. Guess Maki never realized someone would continue the project. Not that it would matter." A screech was heard, as a new Ptera Candroid showed up, a small detonator in its beak. The man's shoulders slumped as Birth made a call to the police.

* * *

There wasn't much that needed changing in Aoi's life during the time of The Tragedy. She was able to use her Kamen Rider powers to save her brother's life. And she also didn't get brainwashed by Ryota, due to him not needing his animation for protection anymore. She did, however, dedicate herself to restoring her late friend Sakura's family shrine, intending to bury her in honor. But fate was continuing to change, and soon the two friends would reunite.

To be continued...

 **Yeah, this episodes mostly filler, but it revolves around Aoi Asahina, so don't be so surprised. Next episode will have more story progression, so don't worry. Read and review.**


	30. Chapter 30: Cooking

**Well back again. And now we're get into some character drama. I'm sure by now those who are fans of Danganronpa realize we're getting into the first murder of Super Danganronpa 2. One of Teruteru's most defining characteristics, besides his talent and his perversions, is how much he loves his mother. So yeah, we're exploring that. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 30: The Tenth Mirror, Cooking, and a Mother

Teruteru was on the phone with his mother, talking about his school life and recent events. "Yes, my classmates are all really friendly. Yes Mama, I've stopped trying to hit on the girls. Don't get me wrong, there are some very fine women among my classmates, but a half-dozen failures at hitting on them, plus a meat and potato stew incident that I don't like to mention, made me decide to keep it in my trousers." There was a moment were Teruteru was laughing, his mother doing the same on her end.

After a bit, Teruteru became sullen. "Yeah, I've seen my siblings on occasion. No, I'm still not talking to them. I can understand them wanting to earn money to help with your medical bills, but in my opinion they're going about it in all the wrong ways. It's like they've forgotten why Daddy built our little restaurant in the first place... Well, I'm glad you're taking it easy. I'm still a long ways away from graduating, so I don't want you bedridden before I can take over and let you get some rest. Alright, Mama, see ya soon. Love ya." Little did Teruteru know, Mukuro had been spying the entire conversation.

* * *

Kyoko returned from to the lounge where the Kamen Riders were doing their study sessions, under the watchful eye of Kyosuke. A little promise he made Chisa. Kyoko looked thoroughly exhausted, and sat down right next to Makoto before resting her head on his shoulders. "Damn, those TV appearances really take it out of you. And Akechi just eats them up, in spite of what he says about hating the media. If he really hated it so much, he wouldn't be booking as many appearances as possible."

"I saw that talk show you were on," Juzo noted, "You really took a chunk out of this Akechi guy's ego." "Yeah, I can see what you were getting at earlier," Makoto said, "About Akechi not being anywhere near as good as Naoto." Hajime thought for a moment. "Hey, Kyoko, do you happen to have any copies of those calling cards?" Kyoko nodded. "They've apparently been treated to avoid leaving traces of physical evidence." She got out one calling card for Kamoshida, and one for Madarame.

The others took a look. "Whoever wrote these did their research," Byakuya noted, "And the logo shows an air of professionalism. I assume you were able to validate the crimes these men were accused of." "Every last detail," Kyoko said with a nod, "By the way, I suspect the next target of the Phantoms might be a man named Junya Kaneshiro." Fuyuhiko raised an eyebrow. "I can understand wanting to target obvious criminals, but why a low-level boss like him?"

"I happened to make some friends in Tokyo," Kyoko explained, "A group of Shujin Academy students who work on the popular Phan-site. One of them, Akira Kurusu, was in Shinjuku asking about Kaneshiro. From his talks, I assume the Phantoms are going after him for his targeting of high school kids for drug running and subsequent blackmail." Fuyuhiko growled. "That bastard... When's he gonna learn to be more subtle!? Keeping your name outta the papers doesn't keep you outta trouble!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Mukuro went to talk to Junko, who was going over some blueprints with Monaca. "I think we have a new target," Mukuro said, "Teruteru Hanamura, the Ultimate Cook. His homelife isn't good right now, mother's sick and his two siblings are in Hope's Peak as Ultimate Escorts, male and female." Junko grinned. "I know that lousy pig. Sure, I think we can use him for a quick distraction while I finish these blueprints. Soon Monaca, and maybe her friends, can join us as Armored Riders." She went to grab Teruteru's picture.

* * *

The alert had gone off while Fuyuhiko was in mid-rant. "Hello misplaced aggression!," he said, grabbing his Driver. "I'll head out too," Kyoko said, "I need to shake the rust off." Hajime and Aoi also decided to head out. The Ptera Candroid led them to a local market district, where they saw a grotesque sight. A humanoid pig monster in chef clothing, eating whatever food was in the stalls. "It's like Dora Circe from Zyuranger," Fuyuhiko noted. "The clothes suggest this Despair manifested from Teruteru," Kyoko said, "So... Cook's Despair, or Chef's Despair? Teruteru is always asking to be called Ultimate Chef."

"I don't think it matters at this point," Hajime replied, "We just need to take it out quickly, and get back to investigating Junko. She clearly sent this one out to distract us." "Oh, so you caught that," came Yuto's voice. The group turned to see him leaning against his own Ridevendor. "Sorry to break the normal dynamic, but I was observing Mukuro while she spied on our favorite country cook." Hajime shrugged. "I guess five would make it go faster." The five Riders activated their Drivers. "Henshin!"

 _ **"Skull!" "Joker!" "Destwilder! Tiger!" "Water State!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ "Let's roast this piggy!," Skull called out as he got out a Gaia Memory. _**"Skull-Fire!"**_ The Cook's Despair spotted the group, and got out some sharp utensils to defend itself, blocking Skull's fire attacks with a large frying pan. "Keep him there a second," Joker said, getting out a new Memory of her own. _**"Xerus-Joker!"**_ "Aqua," Mirror said, "Try your Ice form." Aqua nodded as she pressed the button on the left side of her driver, while Mirror slotted a card into his battle ax Visor. _**"Ice State!" "Freeze Vent!"**_

Taking the hint, Skull swapped out Memories. _**"Skull-Ice!"**_ The three Riders launched their ice attacks, which were more effective against the Despair, while Joker burrowed into the ground and came up behind the Despair, swapping out her own Memory. _**"Rocket-Joker!"**_ The Cook's Despair tried to turn to block as Joker aimed the thruster on her new arm-mounted rocket at it, but OOO saw this and quickly swapped Medals. _**"Shachi! Unagi! Batta!"**_ OOO used the Unagi whips to hold the Despair's arm while Joker roasted it with her rocket.

The Despair quickly pulled away and got loose, pulling out a large mallet to attack. "I got this," Mirror said, slotting in a new card while OOO swapped Medals. _**"Strike Vent!" "Taka! Kujaku! Batta!"**_ Mirror parried the hammer attacks with his Dest Claw gauntlets, while OOO blocked them with the Kujaku shield. As the Despair wound up for a stronger hit, Aqua came rushing in on a miniature avalanche. "Artic Tundra!" The sliding kick caused the Despair to be completely frozen.

"Here's our chance," OOO said, "Joker, Mirror, finish it." Joker nodded as she slipped the Joker Memory into a side slot on her belt and hit the button. _**"Joker! Maximum Drive!"**_ Meanwhile, Mirror slotted another card. _**"Advent!"**_ The card summoned Destwilder, a bulky humanoid tiger. Joker leapt into the air, coming down in a flying kick. "Rider Kick!" The kick shattered the ice, freeing the Despair but sending it sprawling. Mirror then slotted a final card. _**"Final Vent!"**_

Destwilder grabbed the Despair with its claws and dragged it across the ground to Mirror, who readied his Dest Claws. "Crystal Break!" Both Mirror Beast and Rider struck their claws through the Despair, causing it to explode into Cell Medals. As the Candroids cleaned up the Cell Medals for further usage, the Riders canceled their transformations. "That's all our classmates but one," Hajime said to Fuyuhiko. "What's his name?," Aoi asked. "We don't know," Fuyuhiko said, "Heck, even he doesn't know. We just know his title... The Ultimate Impostor."

* * *

Teruteru woke up in the hospital wing of the academy, and was pleasantly surprised to see all his classmates there. "Hey there, wasn't expecting this sorta turnout," he said with a weak smile. "Looks like you'll make a full recovery," Mikan said, "But it must have been rough. Speaking from experience, playing host to one of those Despair monsters isn't fun." "Maybe not, but it sure does feel like a weight's been dropped from your shoulders when it's destroyed," Teruteru said, grinning. The entire class just laughed, grateful to see Teruteru was recovering.

* * *

By this time in the time of The Tragedy, only one member of the 77th class was still a member of the Remnants of Despair. Teruteru and the others offered to use the Neo World Program in an effort to cure him, but someone caused their memories to be erased. Still, when Nagito tried to kickstart the Island Killing Game with a little gambit and Teruteru caught him in the act, he immediately went to tell the others. But without the memories that made them friends, the Ultimate Imposter broke under the pressure.

The belief that someone in the group might be a traitor, and the Imposter's belief that it could be him, led to him killing himself. Or at least, he thought he had. It soon turned out that the entire program meant he couldn't really die. Meanwhile, Teruteru was grateful to find out that, against all odds, his mother had managed to survive in this crazy world. He would eventually succeed in taking his family's restaurant to all new heights, and spread across all of Japan.

To be continued...

 **Whelp, you heard it. Only one member of the 77th left. And it's coming sooner than you think. Be sure to read and review.**


	31. Chapter 31: Imposter

**I can finally get back to this story again. Writing out Nine Phantom Thieves gets tiring. Oh well. Anyway, like I said, we only have one final member of the 77th class to deal with. And we're dealing with it now. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 31: The Eleventh Mirror, an Imposter, and a Name

Fuyuhiko and Peko were being driven through Shibuya, Fuyuhiko contemplating Junko next logical move. "She's almost run her course through the older students," he mused, "Just our last classmate to knock out." "It seems crazy to continue using techniques that have proven ineffective," Peko noted. Fuyuhiko nodded. "But that just means she's using these latest Despairs for either study or distraction. I think she's preparing to put her planned apocalypse into action."

Just then, the limo they were in stopped. "Sorry about this sir," the driver said, "But this man says he knows you." Fuyuhiko rolled down the window and frowned. "Junya Kaneshiro. To what do I owe this displeasure." "Look, everyone knows your family's the biggest in Japan," Kaneshiro said, "Those Phantoms that have been on the news somehow found out about me and sent me this. It's all over the city."

Fuyuhiko took the calling card Kaneshiro handed him and regarded it. "This is what you get for targeting minors," he said curtly, "Still, you might as well get in. I'm interested in meeting these Phantoms face-to-face." However, as the limo continued driving, Kaneshiro briefly had a blank look in his eyes. "Need... To atone... Turn myself over to... The police..." Peko waved her hand in front of Kaneshiro. "I think these Phantoms got to him."

Fuyuhiko blinked. "So they can hit a target without actually being there. That's clever. Hey, stop by the police station. Our buddy here finally started talking sense." The driver nodded. Once they arrived, Fuyuhiko let Kaneshiro out. "Remember the code," he said with a threatening tone. Kaneshiro nodded and walked into the police office. "One less scumbag to threaten our safety," Fuyuhiko noted, "Alright, continue on to the Kogami Foundation."

* * *

"You're just in time," Kogami said, "Hajime is just finishing up. Now that he has full access to a new set of Medals, we are ready to witness a new birth!" Fuyuhiko now saw for the first time Hajime's process for converting the Purple Core Medals. The purple Greeed that lay on the mat opened its eyes and sat up. "Happy Birthday!," Kogami said excitedly, "And welcome to your new life, Giru." Giru looked at his form. "I still look the same," he noted, "Yet I feel different. Lighter, stronger."

"You've lost one key part of your powers," Hajime admitted, "But gained an increase in your other abilities to compensate." Giru seemed to contemplate this. "I can no longer destroy Core Medals. But then... I no longer need to. And my ability to create Yummies... It's been altered." "As per the new agreement," Hajime explained, "You have nine Core Medals within, three of each kind. In exchange, I gain a fourth copy of each of your Medals."

He reached inside Giru, and gently pulled out three new Medals. "Pteranodon, triceratops, and tyrannosaurus. Three ancient beasts that once roamed the land. Your Yummies will now focus on restoring people's link to their past desires." "In order to move about easier," Kogami said, "It is important that you take on a human guise." He showed a computer screen showing various people. Giru looked them over, and selected a combined form of a middle-aged man with light-brown hair.

"Wonderful!," Kogami exclaimed, "Now, to meet with your fellow Greeed." As Giru was led away, several of the Candroids started going off. "A new Despair is being created," Hajime said, "I can still fight. Anyone else?" "I think it's time I got back into this," Juzo said. "I'll go as well," Yuto exclaimed. Byakuya also nodded his head. The four Riders got to their Ridevendors and headed off.

* * *

Dark looked on as her newest Despair, the Imposter's Despair, moved through the city streets. _"His power should be enough to put those Riders in their place."_ Fenrir looked at the creature. _"He doesn't seem like much. In fact he's not even attacking anyone." "His power allows him to mimic the abilities of anyone he touches,"_ Dark explained, _"With it he can copy the Riders' powers and throw them right back at them."_ At that moment, the four Riders showed up. _"Ah, here comes the demonstration."_

The Riders readied their Drivers as they faced the Despair. "Henshin!" _**"Fist On!" "Gigazelle! Imperer!" "Style: Avian!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ As the Riders finished their transformations, the Despair tried grabbing onto OOO, only to violently flung back by some powerful energy. _"Whoa, what was that?,"_ Fenrir asked. Dark scoffed. _"I should have known. The power running through OOO is the polar opposite of the Despair. Imposter's Despair can't copy him."_

Undeterred, the Despair managed to grab onto Ixa, then walked over to a nearby umbrella and broke off the handle. He started waving it around like it was a sword. "So this one can copy physical attributes," Ixa noted, "But not our technology." He inserted one of his fuestles. _**"Garulu Saber!"**_ "Let me show you some real sword skill." "Count me in on this," Mirror said as he slotted a card into the Visor on his knee. _**"Spin Vent!"**_ The card manifested a twin-drill weapon called the Gazelle Stab.

The Despair tried to fight off both Riders, but was already starting to bleed Medals by the dozen. "OOO, hold him down," Mirror said. OOO swapped out his Medals. _**"Taka! Unagi! Tako!**_ " As OOO used his whips to hold the Despair in place, Mirror slotted another card. _**"Advent!"**_ The card summoned three humanoid gazelle creatures, Gigazelle, Omegazelle, and Magazelle. "Now," Ixa called out, "Return that life to God!"

He placed the Ixa Knuckle into his Driver while Mirror slotted a card. _**"Garulu Awaken!"**_ _**"Final Vent!"**_ As the two Riders readied their finishers, Mirror called out, "You do know he's not dead, right?" "God is in all living things!," Ixa said simply. Mirror shrugged as the Zelles stampeded across the Despair, followed by Mirror launching a flying knee. "Drive Divider!" Meanwhile, Ixa charged his saber, the entire area turning to night with a large full moon in view.

In an instant, Ixa leapt at the Despair with a spinning slash. "Howling Slash!" The two attacks connected, and sent the Despair flying across the area, but did not seem to destroy it. On the contrary, it managed to get back up, and rushed over to grab Core. Core seemed amused. "So, you want to try and mimic my boxing. Fine, I'll end this in six rounds!" He punched the Despair away, then assumed a boxing stance.

(Search Killer Instinct - Back (To Rise))

As the two of them fought, it was clear that the Despair was all over the place in terms of boxing, while Core stuck to a simple out-boxer style. "That's the beauty of being the Ultimate Boxer," OOO noted, "Core is able to fight using any style. The Core system makes use of this, with each of his six forms using a different style." "Wait, six?," Mirror said, "I've only seen five." "We may just see the sixth soon," Ixa noted. Core finally got a good hit on the Despair and charged his Driver, leaping into the air. "Eagle Dive!"

The blow knocked the Imposter's Despair down, but it got back up again. Core didn't seem upset, instead spinning his Driver for a new style. _**"Style: Insectoid!"**_ The Insectoid style seemed geared towards a swarmer style of boxing, which was appropriate. It was also becoming clear that, despite being able to mimic Core's boxing, it couldn't match it. Core came in again with another finisher. "Beetle Swarm!"

With another attack connecting, Core once again swapped for another style. _**"Style: Mammalian!"**_ This style definitely seemed suited for a slugger style of boxing, causing big damage and hurting the Despair a lot. Once the creature was in a corner, Core hit it with another finisher. "Rhino Charge!" The Despair went down for another round as Core shifted styles again. _**"Style: Feline!"**_ Once again in an out-boxer style, it seemed like each style was used by two Core forms.

The Despair by this point was struggling to keep up, each blow causing it to leak Cell Medals. And once again, Core saw a change to use a finisher. "Lion Roar!" The slashing attack sent the Despair sprawling. As it got up, Core switched styles again. _**"Style: Marine!"**_ Once again using a swarmer style, Core had the Despair set up for the fifth time. "Whale Tsunami!"

As the Despair struggled to pick itself up, Ixa noticed something. "He's used five different forms, and five different types of Rider Finisher." "And wait 'til you see the last one," OOO said, as Core swapped his style once last time. _**"Style: Saurian!"**_ The blue cloak gave way to a purple one, the eyes on Core's helmet having a reptilian design, and leathery wings on his gloves.

Once again using a slugger style, Core bashed out a few more Medals before charging his Driver again. "Ptera Scream!" The image of a pteranodon appeared over him as one of the wings on his gloves manifested a beak-like weapon, piercing the Despair. "OOO, finish him for good!," Core called out. OOO quickly swapped out his Medals. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_

Leaping into the air, OOO swiped the scanner a second time. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ Core dove out of the way as OOO came down on the Despair. "Prominence Drop!" With the final finisher, the Imposter's Despair finally exploded into Cell Medals. "They're getting tougher," OOO noted, "It may be time to unleash my final Combo." He held out the three Purple Core Medals.

* * *

"All I've ever wanted in life was an identity of my own," the Imposter explained, "I've gone through everyday copying different people, using my talent mostly for acting jobs to earn money to live off of. But it never changed the fact that I didn't have anything... Not even a name." Hajime smiled. "About that." He called for Goto, who brought in a large cake. "I wouldn't be fit to be the god of desires if I couldn't fulfill a desire as large yours," Hajime said as he lifted the cover from the cake.

Tears filled the Imposter's eyes. Next to the cake was a new birth certificate with his picture on it, all filled out with all the important details. On the cake were the words, "Happy Birthday, Taro Kogami". "Kogami has decided to adopt you as his own son," Hajime explained, "You may still be the Ultimate Imposter, but now you have an identity to call your own." Taro sniffed. "Thank you... Hajime."

* * *

With every member of the 77th class having been relieved of being a host for a Despair, or turned into a Kamen Rider, none of them could become Remnants of Despair during the time of The Tragedy. This meant Taro never lost his memories of his new identity. So during the Island Killing Game, when a traitor in the group was announced, no one bought it. Although Nagito seemed willing to sacrifice himself so the others could escape, he stopped after his first attempt failed and Taro scolded him for it.

In later years, after the Tragedy ended and his father retired, Taro took over the Kogami Foundation. He would continue researching newer and stronger Kamen Rider powers, becoming influential in creating many Riders that succeeded OOO. Although he never used his talent to masquerade as Kogami, Taro's employees couldn't but notice that Taro nonetheless started exhibiting his father's habits. Though they didn't mind, as his cakes were delicious.

To be continued...

 **Yeah, Taro's kind of a generic Japanese name, but for someone who never even had a real name before that moment, I think he'll take it. So yeah, Core has each of the six Rider finishers. Avian has the Rider Kick, Feline has the Rider Slash, Insectoid has the Rider Shoot, Mammalian has the Rider Punch, Marine has the Rider Chop, and Saurian has the Rider Thrust. Next chapter I'll bring in some more of Kamen Rider Joker. Read and review.**


	32. Chapter 32: Martial Arts

**With the 77th class no longer set to become the Remnants of Despair, we're still not finished changing the future. After all, Ultimate Despair didn't just consist of them. And Junko still wants her perfect tragedy. So now, we're ready to really get into changing the fates of the 78th class. As in, the ones who actually died. And keep in mind, unlike the 77th class, who only died in a virtual setting, in Danganronpa canon all but six members of the 78th class died for real. Let's fix that, shall we? Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 32: The Twelfth Mirror, Martial Arts, and the Invincible Combo

Kenshiro, the man formerly known as the strongest in the world, was reclining in his hospital bed. The victim of a terminal illness, the doctors had given him six months to live. Thing is, that was seven months ago, and while his hair had gone completely white, he was still as alive as ever. However, because all of his strength was going towards staving off the illness, he could no longer consider himself the strongest fighter. So he passed the title over to his girlfriend, Sakura Ogami.

Yet his dreams haunted him. He could see her, blood dripping from her mouth as she sat in some nondescript room, her eyes closed solemnly, her breathing stopped. As he contemplated this, the nearby door opened to reveal a middle-aged man. "You seek solace for your past," the man said, "In order to see a bright future." Before Kenshiro's eyes, the man turned into some sort of humanoid dinosaur. It was the Greeed known as Giru, performing his first act as a bringer of desire.

Holding up a Cell Medal, a coin slot appeared on Kenshiro's shoulder. "Your muscles have been strained to their limit," Giru noted, "Your former strength, fading as disease ravages your body." He tossed the Medal into the slot. "Let this be the catalyst that repairs your broken desires." From Kenshiro's body emerged a Yummy which quickly shed its outer form to become a humanoid Carnotaurus. "Seek the cure for his affliction," Giru instructed, "It is rumored to exist somewhere." The Carnotaurus Yummy nodded, and quickly blended into the surroundings.

* * *

Elsewhere, Junko was busy watching the local news and heard an interesting report. 'A new development in the ongoing war between hacktivist group Medjed and the mysterious Phantoms. In response to a recent post on the Phantom Aficionado Website, Medjed declared on their own website that they intend to "purge" the Japanese community, effectively shutting down all economic activity in one fell swoop. However, the Phantoms seem undeterred as they have declared they already know the face behind Medjed, and are making plans to change his heart the same way they have all their previous targets. More on this story as it develops.'

Curious, Junko checked both websites to get further details on the two groups actions. "Now this is getting interesting," she noted, "And while those two groups go at each others throats, I can progress my own goals." Mukuro walked in at that moment, a frown on her face. "I just double-checked. There's no more Ultimates to work with, save our own classmates. Maybe we should try working with the Reserves." Junko sighed. "I considered trying it several times. The reality is that Reserves don't nearly have enough hope to create a Despair."

With some reluctance, she pulled out the pictures she made of her classmates. "We have no choice but to use our own classmates. But who to start with?" She looked through the pictures, and frowned when four of them, Kyoko, Byakuya, Aoi, and Makoto, didn't register. Heck, in Makoto's case the Medal seemed to burn in her hands. "I get the impression we couldn't use Makoto even he wasn't a Kamen Rider," Mukuro used. "That's unusual," Junko noted. Then she got a hit on Sakura. "Well, perhaps the world's strongest fighter can produce us results." She grinned as she slotted the Black Medals.

* * *

"Hey, I'm back," Kyoko said, "Things have been a little crazy since Kaneshiro turned himself in." "Do the police believe you're staring to be useless to them?," Byakuya asked as he leafed through a newspaper. "No, they just think once the Phantoms expose Medjed they'll hit their peak and won't target anyone else," Kyoko said with a shrug, "Though I somehow doubt that."

Before anyone could question that, the Candroids started going off again. "Great," Hajime said, "Who is it this time?" "Who could possibly be left after Taro's restoration?," Byakuya asked. That's when Makoto's phone went off. 'Makoto-kun!,' came Sayaka's hysterical voice, 'Something's happened to Sakura-chan! She just collapsed and some sort of monster appeared from her!' Aoi gasped. "Not Sakura!" "I think we'll need all hands on deck for this one," Makoto said, and the group nodded.

* * *

The new Martial Artist's Despair was in the process of attacking a local tournament, when it sensed a new presence approaching. "Henshin!" _**"Water State!" "Fist On!" "Venosnaker! Ouja!" "Sword Form!" "Joker!" "Skull!" "All-Magic!" "Chu!" "Mode: Liger!" "Mighty Form!" "Kamen Ride! Decade!" "Style: Avian!" "Gashapon Active!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ The Despair looked unfazed, simply saying, **"Show me your strength."**

However, rather than rush it at once, the Riders started out with different techniques. Mirror slotted a card into his staff-like Visor. _**"Sword Vent!"**_ The card summed the Venom Saber. Meanwhile, Kuuga also changed forms for swordplay. _**"Titan Form!"**_ The Despair blocked both blades as they were swung, but got blindsided by a few long-ranged attacks. _**"Sapphire Magic!" "Ghost Bow!" "Skull-Energy!"**_ Joker then came in, slotting a new Gaia Memory. _**"Quick-Joker!"**_

As Joker used her blinding speed to try and overwhelm the Despair, OOO swapped out his Medals while Decade changed cards. _**"Take! Tora! Tako!" "Sentai Ride! Gekiranger!"**_ OOO used his Tako legs to try holding the Despair in place while Decade slotted in an Attack Card. _**"Attack Ride! GekiNunchaku!"**_ Decade struck the Martial Artist's Despair several times, but it just seemed to tank the blows before throwing both Riders off.

As it tried to recover, however, it was blindsided again as Aqua came in with a diving kick. "Aqua Vortex!" The blow sent the Despair reeling, but still standing. "Looks like we'll need stronger attacks," Birth said as he inserted a Medal into his Driver. _**"Brighton Bit!"**_ Birth slammed his drill into the Despair, but it didn't seem to sheer off even a single Medal. Ixa came in, inserting a fuestle as Battalion swapped his mode. _**"Dogga Hammer!" "Mode: Schneider!"**_

As the two Riders attack the Despair, Mirror noticed the creature was carrying twin gauntlets for weapons. Quickly, he slotted in a new card. _**"Steal Vent!"**_ As the Despair blocked a blow from Ixa, it was surprised to see one of the gauntlets vanish and appear on Mirror's hand. This left the creature wide open as Den-O slashed at it while Core slammed it with a solid head blow. "We need to hold it down somehow!," Aqua called out. "All on it!," Mirror replied as he slotted another card. _**"Advent!"**_

Behind the Despair rose the giant serpent Venosnaker, which quickly wrapped itself around the creature. As it started trying to remove the mirror monster, Skull and Joker swapped Memories. _**"Skull-Knight!" "Yamato-Joker!"**_ Martial Artist's Despair broke free from Venosnaker just in time to get a one-two strike from Skull's mace and Joker's spear, staggering the creature.

As it recovered, Mirror slotted in another card. _**"Final Vent!"**_ He leapt onto Venosnaker's snout as it launched him at the Despair, coming in with a powerful bicycle kick. "Veno Crash!" The attack finally knocked the Despair off its feet, but it wound up landing perfectly afterward, the only sign it was damaged being how dizzy it seemed to be as it tried to steady itself.

At that moment, the two Armored Riders appeared. _"I'll admit you're doing far better than I would have expected,"_ Dark said, _"But don't forget this Despair was crafted from the unbeatable Ultimate Martial Artist."_ OOO scoffed. "Unbeatable? Where did you get that idea?" _"How else would you explain her winning-streak of four-hundred matches?,"_ Fenrir asked. OOO laughed. "Those are from officially sanctioned fights. But out on the streets, Sakura did find someone who could defeat her. His name is Kenshiro, and he was once the strongest fighter ever. He and he alone was ever able to beat Sakura Ogami."

 _"Well, that's clearly changed,"_ Dark said, _"After all, Sakura holds the title now."_ "That's because her boyfriend's sick, you moron!," Aqua called out. Dark looked taken aback. _"Come again...?"_ "After Kenshiro defeated Sakura, she fell in love with him," OOO explained, "And still challenged him every once in a while, but could never win. The only reason she holds the title of strongest fighter, is because Kenshiro is currently struggling with a terminal illness. Its taking all his strength just to live, so he decided to pass the title on to Sakura, even though she still hasn't defeated him in a fight."

Dark looked completely shocked. _"That's why!? You mean she can still be beaten!?"_ "But it's clear that we need a little more force behind our attacks in order to do damage," OOO said. He then got out his Purple Medals. _"What are those?,"_ Dark asked, _"How long have you had them?"_ "From the beginning," OOO said, "But because they still had traces of the despair energy residing in your Black Medals, it was too dangerous to use." He slotted the Medals. "But now that's not a problem." He swiped his O Scanner. _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"**_

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - POWER to TEARER)

The three Medals manifested around OOO as a new purple armor. The underside looked black briefly before shifting to a white form, the O Lung becoming more pronounced. Cracking his neck for a bit, OOO took on a feral stance before rushing down the Martial Artist's Despair. Dark and Fenrir got a complete shock when the first blow actually sheered off Cell Medals, showing the Putotyra form to be much stronger than anything OOO had shown before.

The Despair tried to strike back, but OOO's new form was capable of quick flight, perhaps even faster than Tajador, and he had long range as well thanks to a set of horns near his shoulders, and a vicious tail, both of which could be manifested at will. In addition, the wings he used to fly could also generate cold blasts of air. Between that and the brutal fighting style OOO was no adopting, it was clear the tables has turned.

As the Despair started to falter, having already lost quite a few Cell Medals, OOO swiped his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Blasting Freezer!" _"What now?,"_ Dark muttered. She soon got her answer as OOO stuck the Despair with his Tricera horns, keeping it place as his Ptera wings froze the creature solid, before shattering the entire Despair with his Tyranno tail, the individual pieces turning into Cell Medals. "Not done yet," OOO declared as he thrust his hand right into the concrete, causing it to fracture and expose lines of purple energy.

From the impact, OOO pulled out a large ax-like weapon with a dinosaur head. "This is my Medagabryu," OOO explained, "Now, let me draw power from the desires of their victims!" He held the Medagabryu over his head, and five Cell Medals flew into a slot on the ax head. OOO then grabbed the second handle and pulled it down, closing the dino's mouth. _**"Gulp!"**_ _"My thought exactly,"_ Fenrir exclaimed.

OOO shifted the first handle, revealing the Medagabryu to have a blaster mode. He then aimed right at Dark. _**"Putotyranno Hissatsu!"**_ "Strain Doom!" As OOO fired, Fenrir quickly leaped in front of Dark. But the blast was so effective that it knocked back both Armored Riders, and caused Fenrir's transformation to be forcibly canceled. As Dark looked at her sister, she was shocked and dismayed. Mukuro was still alive, barely, but was completely unconscious and had a serious wound on her stomach. Plus, her Driver was sparking and appeared to have to been severely damaged.

 _"How could such strength exist...?,"_ Dark asked, _"My sister has never suffered even a single injury until now, not even accidentally."_ "Sooner or later, everyone's luck runs out," OOO said simply. Dark growled. _"Don't think it ends here! We will return, until our plan for a glorious Ultimate Despair runs wild over this world!"_ And with that, she launched her mist bubble escape, disappearing along with Mukuro. The Riders canceled their transformation as Hajime looked solemn. "And we'll be waiting Junko... To stop you."

* * *

"Repairing Mukuro's Driver will take time," G said, "And she'll need to use makeup for that stomach wound to avoid arousing suspicion from non-Riders." "And what will it take to speed up the process?," Junko asked, "Perhaps prevent Mukuro from scarring." G smiled. "Access. To Hope's Peak Academy's research facilities. We've already pulled strings to get you involved in the Ultimate Hope Project. Now we need access of our own." Junko nodded. "Fine! Just as long as I can finish my plan." G grinned.

* * *

As Sakura came to, she saw the Carnotaurus Yummy standing over her. **"I am here since your lover cannot be,"** it explained, **"He is my host, and I was created by his desire to see your desires come true. He is still fighting until a cure for his condition can be found. And one is being developed, but it will take some more time. A few weeks, perhaps more. Until then, he wants you to know, he still loves you, and looks forward to the day when you both can have another match."** The Yummy cloaked itself, but left Sakura with a smile on her face.

* * *

During the time of The Tragedy, Sakura's death was perhaps the most heart-wrenching. Yet it only came about due to Sakura being blackmailed into being Monokuma's mole during the School Killing Game. However, Sakura found reason deep in her heart that she should not betray her closest friends, even if she didn't remember them. As such, she never even had to consider suicide, and was there with the others during the final confrontation. When she heard Kenshiro did succeed in getting his illness cured, she sought him out, for the chance to rebuild her family's dojo.

To be continued...

 **I forgot to mention this, but Giru's human form is meant to be based on Akira Kushida, a prominent Japanese vocalist who has done plenty of work in tokusatsu, including the voice for OOO's Driver belt, as well as secondary vocalist alongside Shu Watanabe (the guy who played Eiji Hono in Kamen Rider OOO) for Putotyra's image song, POWER to TEARER. Anyway, hope you liked said form's intro in this story. Read and review.**


	33. Chapter 33: Writing

**Finally getting back into this (my last Nine Phantom Thieves chapter took too long to complete), but now we're getting into a new Rider. And oh boy, are you in for a treat. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 33: The Final Mirror, Writing, and the Two in One

"We only have two more Driver systems to distribute," Goto said to Kogami, "But I'm wondering if we'll ever find a compatible user for the W system. After all, it takes two linked minds to properly use. And it could take days for two people to properly sync like that." Kogami looked at a file given to him by Jin. "Oh perhaps, there is one who already possesses the right mindset." He laid the file down, revealing it to belong to Toko.

* * *

Mukuro stirred awake inside the medical ward of the academy. Next to her bed was Junko, her eyes filled with tears. "Damn it, Mukuro," Junko said, legitimately sobbing, "I always thought it'd be me in that bed with a serious injury while you were sitting here, perfectly fine." Mukuro started to get up, but felt severe pain in her chest. "Damn... That new form OOO has did a number on me..."

Junko grabbed Mukuro hand and squeezed. "You didn't have to try and get yourself killed just to give me despair... I would have been fine just killing you..." Mukuro blinked. "Actually... I was trying to stop that attack from hitting you." "I know," Junko sobbed, "But a girl can dream!" She finally calmed down and wiped her eyes. "Anyway, I convinced G to repair the Fenrir Driver. All he asked for in exchange for access to something called the Ultimate Talent Development Program."

Mukuro put a hand to her chin. "What is that?" "No clue," Junko said, "But I do know that the Steering Committee is the one who created it. Most likely the entire academy is just one big front for this program. I've been trying to figure out more, but for some reason my analytical skills keep failing if I dig too deep. Like some kind of... Mental block. And that concerns me."

* * *

Toko didn't know what to make of the strange device she had been handed by that guy on the motorcycle. All he had said was, "Kogami thinks you can make use of this." It looked like the same Driver Kyoko was using, only combined with the one Fuyuhiko was seen using. She walked along with the device in hand, wondering how she was going to use it, and what the deal was with the Gaia Memories that came along with it. Especially the new one called "Ace".

Before she knew it, she had wandered near a warehouse not far from the academy. And it was there she overheard something. It was G and a few more Foundation X members. "Raiga has just been arrested," G noted, "We may need to cut ties with the organization." "Perhaps," said a middle-aged woman, "But I'm worried about leaving Yaldabaoth in their hands. What about Junko?"

Toko's eyebrow raised at that. _'What does Junko have to do with these people?'_ "We've completed the updated Driver for her sister," G said, "All that remains to is dispose of the original." He placed the Driver on himself. "You do realize the risks?," the woman asked. G nodded. "I am but a cog in this machine, hence why name is but a letter." He activated the Driver, which seemed to spark as it activated.

In an instant, Toko realized what G planned to do. _'He's going to attack somewhere random hoping to lure the Kamen Riders to him. One way or another that Driver gonna get destroyed... But I won't let him hurt innocent people in the process.'_ She didn't know why she was thinking that way, though she chalked it up to her talks with Makoto. That guy seemed to bring out the best in everybody.

She reached into the box and pulled out a piece of paper, which held instructions on it. She then put on the Driver and got out the Cyclone and Ace Gaia Memories. _'I've always wanted to talk to her personally,'_ Toko thought, and she crossed her arms while holding the Memories. "Henshin!" _**"Cyclone! Ace!"**_ During the transformation, Toko could feel a certain nagging feeling grow to sync with her own mind.

It was her other personality, the Ultimate Murderous Fiend, Genocide Jack. _"What the heck?,"_ Jack asked in confusion, _"I'm active at the same time you are?"_ "Long story," Toko replied. G, now donning the Fenrir suit, rushed out when he heard the commotion. "Syo," Toko said, "I know we haven't really seen eye-to-eye in the past but..." _"Don't get you're long johns in a twist,"_ Syo replied, _"I think I understand the situation perfectly. We need to act as one for this to work, right?"_

Toko smiled. "Yeah. I need your fighting skills for this to work, but at the time you need my critical thinking to fight effectively." _"Then what are we waiting for?,"_ Syo said with a laugh. "Get ready for a two-in-one beatdown," the two personalities said simultaneously, "Courtesy of Kamen Rider W." "W again?," G said, "I thought he retired?" "We're the new and improved," W replied, and proceeded to attack G.

* * *

Nearby, Hajime, Byakuya, and Yasuke joined up Yuto. "What's the alert about?," Yasuke asked. Yuto pointed. "Seems Kogami has chosen our next ally. Toko Fukawa... And her other side." Byakuya sighed. "That woman... Well, at least it's not another lame-brain attempt to get my attention." "Don't deny you're attracted," Hajime teased. "What's to deny?," Byakuya retorted, "Her appearance is flawless. She just needs to work on getting clean and improving her outlook on life."

The others looked at him. "Let's just henshin," Hajime said. They put on their Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Fist On!" "Sword Form!" "Psycorogue! Zero!" "Taka, Tora, Batta: Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ Den-O dropped to the ground first. "Ore... Sanjou!" He quickly pulled out his DenGasher and started attacking G. W looked confused until Ixa landed next to her. "Eh!?," W called, both voices sounding excited, "Byakuya!? You're here to help me!?"

"We are fellow Riders," Ixa said simply, "But we're going to talk about why you have two voices." He slotted one of Fuestles. _**"Ixa Calibur-Rise Up!"**_ "I guess we do owe him an explanation," W noted, "But first things first." She got out two of the other Memories she was given and slotted them. _**"Heat! Metal!"**_ The green and white combo was replaced with red and chrome, and W now held a solid steel staff with a Memory unit in the center.

Meanwhile, OOO had jumped down and had started joining the fight. G backed off for a bit after getting a bad hit. "At this rate my efficiency will be too low," he noted, "I require reinforcements." He got out a few Cell Medals and crushed them, like how he saw Junko doing it. When Mirror saw the large number of Trash, he opened up the Visor on his left arm and slotted in two cards. _**"Sword Vent!" "Accele Vent!"**_

Now moving at unthinkable speeds, Mirror destroyed several Trash with his Slash Dagger. W got in a few blows with her staff before deciding to switch Memories. _**"Luna! Trigger!"**_ Now donning yellow and blue, W ejected both Memories and slotted them into the gun. "This would normally be dangerous," she noted, "But both my minds started in the same body. That should allow this sort of action."

She pulled back on the gun. _**"Luna-Trigger! Maximum Drive!"**_ The Memories powered up until they reached critical energy. Pulling the trigger, W called out, "Trigger Full Burst!" The barrage of bullets acted quickly to destroy a good chunk of the Trash. OOO was getting surrounded by several more Trash and decided to swap out his Medals. "Let's see you try this trick." _**"Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... Sa-Go-Zo!"**_

G watched in surprise as OOO plunged his hand into the ground and pulled out the Medagabryu. "Impossible," G said, "You can only control that in your Putotyra form." "Whoever said that?," OOO asked, "Sure, I need Putotyra to use its full power, but even without it..." He spun around, the shockwave from the axe clearing out the Trash. "Well, the results speak for themselves."

G realized he needed to leave in order to complete his secondary objective. "Oh no you don't," Mirror said, slotting in two more card. _**"Advent!" "Wheel Vent!"**_ The Advent card summoned Psycorogue, a cricket-like creature, who quickly turned into a motorcycle with the help of the Wheel Vent. Mirror quickly sped after G, slotting in one final card. _**"Final Vent!"**_ Mirror started doing donuts around G, taking out hordes of Trash as he did. Before ramming into G, Mirror called out, "Dead End!"

As G managed to get up, the old Fenrir Driver sparking more, he saw OOO swap out his Medals again. _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"**_ "You wanted to see the Medagabryu's power?," OOO said, "Here. Let me give you a front row seat!" He took out five Cell Medals and inserted them into the mouth of the axe, pulling on the handle. _**"Gulp!"**_ OOO then opened the axe back up, causing the Medagabryu to burp loudly.

As OOO readied the axe, a charge built into it. _**"Putotyranno Hissatsu!"**_ Bringing the axe down on G, OOO called out, "Ground of Rage!" The attack tore through G and the Fenrir Driver, causing both to be overwhelmed by the energy backlash. The resulting explosion completely destroyed the already wrecked Fenrir Driver, while also severely injuring G.

* * *

As the Riders watched G being taken away by medical officials, who would be transporting him to a prison hospital, Byakuya turned to Toko. "So... That other voice?" Toko sighed. "That... Was Genocide Jack..." Yuto looked shocked. "The famous serial killer? Even I didn't see that coming." "But Headmaster Kirigiri knew about it, somehow," Toko noted, "And now, so does Kogami. The truth is, I have Dissociative Identity Disorder, which is how I can operate the W Driver."

She looked at the group. "So, what now?" "As I said," Byakuya replied, "You're a Rider like us now. That said, I hope you will use this to improve your hygiene." Toko smiled. "Yeah! Definitely!" "One thing I'm concerned about," Hajime said, "That guy G was using the Fenrir Driver even though it was damaged. But why? And what about Mukuro?" That question worried the other Riders as well.

* * *

In the time of The Tragedy, Toko's newfound powers and confidence put her on a simple mission. Once she learned about the hostages being taken by the mysterious force behind Junko's actions, she made it a point to find and rescue them. As it turned out, she was very successful, even making a friend of Makoto's sister. She had long ago accepted that she would have to share Byakuya with several other girls, but felt vindicated by the fact that it was her child that earned the right to become the next Togami heir.

To be continued...

 **So glad to finally get back to this. I think I've planned out how things will build up to the end. Anyway, G's replacement will show up next chapter, so look forward to it. Read and review.**


	34. Chapter 34: Gambling

**Decided to break for a couple days, gotta cold bothering me. But now it's time to redeem what would otherwise be an irredeemable character. (Hey, it can happen.) Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 34: New Face, Gambling, and Fenrir Revived

Celeste sighed as she looked over the shogi rules again. She was irritated at two different people named Hifumi who were forefront on her mind. The first was Hifumi Togo. Celeste once won a shogi game without even realizing what the rules were. Wondering if it was dumb luck, she challenged Togo to an exhibition match. In order to protect her winning streak, she went under her real name, Taeko Yasuhiro. As it turned out, she was outmatched. And now Celeste found herself wanting to learn more about shogi.

The other Hifumi was her classmate, Hifumi Yamada. The doujin author was nice enough, and even willing to put up with her at her worst. Crazy as it was, Celeste found herself falling for the guy, which was odd given there was little about him that was attractive physically. _'Perhaps it's because I see a lot of myself in him,'_ she mused internally. The only problem was his insistence on saying he was only attracted to 2-D women. The thought made her sigh.

Here she was, dressed as the quintessential gothic lolita, something any otaku would swoon over if said girl asked them out, and yet Yamada stayed firm. "Ugh, it's enough to make me rage," Celeste said, not bothering with the accent she normally presented to people. She had been trying to hide her real identity for some time, though suspected at least some of her classmates knew she was faking. Especially Makoto and Kyoko, those two seemed especially perceptive.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mukuro was just getting out of the medical wing, when she was approached by the same woman who met with G. "Greetings," the woman said, "I am Fumiko Pekoyama." Mukuro raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't happen to be related to my upperclassman Peko would you?" Fumiko nodded. "I am her mother, though my husband gave her up to the Kuzuryu family to prevent me from using her in my think-tank. You've met G? He was part of my group, known as Alphabet Soup."

Mukuro chortled. "Really? That's what you named it? How unoriginal." "My purpose was to raise intelligent children capable of brainstorming new projects for Foundation X," Fumiko retorted, "Originality is a non-issue. But this is beside the point." She handed Mukuro the new Fenrir Driver. "G was able to complete it before he was defeated by the Kamen Riders. It won't improve your battle performance, but it can withstand greater damage."

Mukuro nodded as she took the Driver, then went to meet with her sister. Junko was already looking through the remaining choices they had. "If this keeps up, we may have to accelerate our timetable. Not to mention Kyoko's back." "She's been commuting between here and Tokyo and lot," Mukuro noted, "Is it because of the Phantoms case?" Junko scoffed. "They call it the 'Phantoms case' but only a small fraction of the police are interested in investigating the Phantoms."

She smiled as she got a hit on Celeste's photo. "This looks promising... With Celeste's knowledge of gambling, the amount of firepower this Despair will have is sure to be useful. By the way, did you meet the new face?" "Sure did," Mukuro said, "She offer anything besides my new Driver?" "A little project for Monaca," Junko said as she slotted the coin into Celeste's picture, "Soon she'll be able to fight alongside us."

* * *

Kyoko rushed to the medical wing as soon as she got to the academy, having already been informed of the situation via the Batta Candroid. "Who was it this time?," she asked when she saw Makoto. "This time they decided to target Celeste," Makoto replied, "All the Candroids are out scouring the city, including those new Ptera and Torikera Candroids." Soon enough one of the Kujaku Candroids came in, having tracked where the Despair was. "Time to get some exercise," Kyoko said.

* * *

Dark grinned beneath her helmet as she watched Gambler's Despair challenge opponent after opponent. Each victory only brought the monster one step closer to fading. Before the Despair could claim it's latest victory, it found itself blasted by Kuuga in his Pegasus Form. _"Can't go one whole hour before you Riders show up,"_ Dark said, irritated. She went to confront Kuuga, only to be stopped by a new face.

"Sorry," W said, "But your fight's with me." Dark looked confused by the stereo voice, though she did recognize it. _'Toko Fukawa? Does that new system make use of her DID?'_ _"I don't think we've been formally introduced,"_ Dark noted. "Oh yeah," W realized, "You weren't there when I helped kick G's but. I'm surprised you weren't told me." _"Or rather...,"_ came Syo's voice. "Told about us," Toko finished. "We're Kamen Rider W," W announced, "The two-in-one Rider."

Dark turned her head when she heard Gambler's Despair start to clash with OOO and Joker. _"That's fifteen Riders so far,"_ she noted, _"Perhaps there will be a sixteenth, just for symbolism's sake."_ "To match the standard number of students per class at the academy, right?," W replied as she got out a different Gaia Memory, "Possibly. Who am I to know?" She slotted the new Memory. _**"Luna! Ace!"**_

Meanwhile, as Joker knocked away the Despair, she detected something and leaped out of the way as Fenrir came flying in. _"Back, and definitely improved. You won't be destroying my Driver so easily this time."_ "So you're only improvement is that your suit is more durable?," Joker asked, "That's not much of an upgrade." So got out a Gaia Memory of her own and slotted it. _**"Turbo-Joker!"**_

Joker came tearing down the field at immense speed, nailing Fenrir on the way. Kuuga noticed the commotion. "OOO, can you handle the Despair?" "You do know who you're talking to?," OOO replied. Kuuga nodded and joined Joker while OOO swapped out Medals. _**"Sai! Unagi! Batta!"**_ Gambler's Despair was helpless as OOO wrapped it up in his whips, drawing the creature in for a vicious headbutt, knocking the creature to the ground.

Meanwhile, Dark and Fenrir were having similar trouble. Dark's analytical skills proved especially useless against the illusion powers of the Luna Memory, and Fenrir got knocked to the ground by Joker and Kuuga. "Time to shift," Joker said as she got out another Memory while Kuuga changed forms. _**"Unicorn-Joker!" "Titan Form!"**_ Fenrir got caught off-guard when Joker took the horn off her helmet, revealing it to double as a rapier.

Meanwhile OOO knocked aside various gambling tools as Gambler's Despair tried to defend itself, or least wear itself out before OOO could finish the job. "Guess I'll have to end this here," OOO said as he got out the Purple Medals. _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"**_ Gambler's Despair took one look at OOO's new form, and immediately tried to flee.

OOO, however, would have none of it, swiping his O Scanner across his Driver. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ The Despair found itself speared from behind by OOO's Tricera horns, holding it in place while his wings froze the creature solid. "Blasting Freezer!," OOO called out as he swiped his tail to shatter the Despair. The vent did not go unnoticed by Dark. _"Fenrir, time to withdraw."_ Fenrir nodded as she quickly fired off her grappler while Dark created her mist screen. "Until next time then," OOO said.

* * *

Celeste made a full recovery, and it improved her demeanor during the time of The Tragedy. While she still thought it would be beneficial to adapt to life inside the school, she really meant it, at least until they discovered who was behind the Killing Game. However, this meant Hifumi took her place as mastermind during what would be the penultimate trial, something she hated since she still loved him. Regardless, she choose to live for his sake, awaiting the next change.

To be continued...

 **My sister story to this one, Nine Phantom Thieves, may wind up longer than I thought, or maybe not, I haven't decided. In any case, next chapter we unveil the final Kamen Rider for this team. Read and review.**


	35. Chapter 35: Clairvoyance

**A new year and a new chapter. And a whole new Rider. As I looked through who would become Kamen Riders, I realized that this was a good chance to create some new Rider, like Gold and Battalion (Mirror doesn't count since he's basically all the Riders from Ryuji combined into one, though Core might count since it's a new concept with an old name). Anyway, the point is when I got to Yasuhiro, I knew instantly what sort of Rider I wanted him to be. Hope you enjoy it. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 35: Battle Mechs, Clairvoyance, and the Major Arcana

Yasuhiro grumbled as he peered into his crystal ball. Most would argue it was useless glass, and they were half right, the ball was made of glass rather than actual crystal. But it still held a mysterious power that a psychic like himself could take advantage of. _'These visions I keep seeing. The world torn asunder right when it's at a high point. Giant robots battling tokusatsu superheroes. And this new Rider dressed like an effigy of the Fool Arcana.'_

"I know my track record of seeing the future is a thirty percent accuracy rating," he muttered aloud, "But this is still some weird vision." What made Yasuhiro the Ultimate Clairvoyant wasn't a perfect view of the future, but his skill at helping people to understand these visions, and either avoid them or enable them as appropriate. He stood up and turned to his cards, observing the way they were laid out. "The future is shifting. It's taking all my power just to be able to keep up. And it's only going to keep happening until the present catches up to my vision."

* * *

Later that day, Yasuhiro walked through the hallway, his mind wandering. "Hey Hiro!" Yasuhiro was caught off-guard as something female slammed into him. He could tell it was a female from the fact that his face was now ears-deep in cleavage. "Hey, Hina," he said in a muffled voice. Sure enough, it was Aoi. For whatever reason, Aoi had decided to make Yasuhiro her boyfriend. While he was not unappreciative, and with him only being two years older than the rest of class the age gap was a non-issue, it still baffled him.

After extricating himself from Aoi's generous bosom, he looked at her. "What's the deal? Has there been another attack?" "Not so far," Aoi said, "Makoto, Hajime, and Byakuya are still working to predict Junko's next move. Meanwhile Kazuichi's been working the technical side of things. He's perfected some new Driver that works on a magitek system, and he thinks he has the perfect test subject." She grabbed Yasuhiro's hand.

The psychic looked dumbfounded. "Wait, me!? But I'm not athletic!" "Neither is Ryota," Aoi said simply, "Doesn't stop him." Yasuhiro thought about this. On the one hand, he wasn't sure this new system would work. But on the other, if it did, it meant he could have a hand in preventing the world from falling apart. "I guess I could give it a try." "Great!," Aoi said, "Maybe you can predict whether or not it will work!" "I'm not that accurate!," he called out.

* * *

"This will be our test," Fumiko said. Junko and Mukuro were overseeing the data as Monaca was standing in the middle of some sort of platform. "Kamen Riders are powerful," Fumiko explained, "But are still more or less human. A machine can be made to be more powerful. At the same time, however, machine logic can easily be outmaneuvered by human ingenuity. The solution? Create a Kamen Rider-based mech, piloted by a human."

She turned to Monaca. "Go ahead and use the Driver as instructed." "Okay," Monaca said sweetly. Junko squealed. "Doesn't she just melt your heart with that cuteness?" Monaca pressed the button on the Driver, opening a rift that slowly expelled a mechanical cube. Pulling down on the twin levers on the Driver, Monaca called out, "Henge!" The cube started to shift a tractor beam pulled Monaca into it.

The cube turned into a black and white robot around the size of the average high-schooler. From inside the robot, Monaca announced, "Armored Rider Mage is complete!" "Mage?," Fumiko asked, confused. "Monaca is a mage," Monaca explained, "Because I can make almost anyone do what I want. So this is Armored Rider Mage." "I can't believe you modeled the power armor after a robot Monaca modeled," Mukuro said to Fumiko.

"I thought it best to use a model she was comfortable with," Fumiko explained, "How are the controls working?" The mech worked by placing Monaca into the mental realm known as the Metaverse, from which the Driver let her manipulate the mech in a one-to-one control. "It'll take some getting used to. Maybe a little fine-tuning to perfect it. But I can at least move like a normal human, so there is that." "Well, we'll get a chance to see how it operates in combat conditions," Fumiko said, "Because I guarantee the Riders were alerted to our demonstration."

* * *

Sure enough, Hajime, Sonia, Kazuichi, and Yasuhiro arrived at the test site. "Can you remind me how my system works?," Yasuhiro asked. "It's simple," Kazuichi replied, "You start in Fool State. From there you can use the cards on the belt to shift in other states. Each time you use a card it will permanently go up a rank. Hit rank ten and you unlock that state's finisher. To rank up Fool State you need to swap it out for another state, then swap back again."

Yasuhiro nodded. It seemed simple enough. And now he was starting to understand his earlier vision. They then saw Junko and Mukuro go for their Drivers. "Henge!" _**"Sasori! Kani! Ebi! Sasa-Ni-Bi!"**_ "Let's respond in kind," Hajime said. The four of them got their own Drivers out. "Henshin!" _**"All Magic!" "Liger Mode!" "Arcana Set!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

The four Rider leapt down to meet their Armored adversaries. _"You're a new one,"_ Dark noted to Yasuhiro, _"So who are are you supposed to be?"_ Yasuhiro pointed to himself with his thumb. "I'm Kamen Rider... Tarot. The final Rider of this team. I'm here to seal your fates!" The Armored Riders looked at each other. _"That's a good opening,"_ Fenrir admitted.

Dark nodded. _"Well, allow us to introduce our newest team member, Armored Rider Mage!"_ Mage lifted her spear and fired off an energy bolt, causing the Riders to scatter. "Tarot! Battalion!," Gold called out, "We need extra speed!" Tarot looked through his cards, spotting one that looked promising. "Hope I'm right about this." He slipped the card into the Driver in the reverse position, causing the Fool card to pop out the other end. He then flipped the Driver's card holder over. _**"Chariot Set! Rank 1!"**_

Meanwhile, Battalion and Gold swapped their state as well. _**"Jager Mode!" "Amethyst Magic!"**_ Like Tarot figured, the Chariot State allowed him to move at much faster speeds, as well as increasing his leg strength to deal devastating kick strikes. To Mage's surprised, he zoomed past her and targeted Dark directly. Surprised, Dark got up. _"I didn't expect that..."_ "You're a part of this fight too," Tarot noted, "Plus, your analyses versus my clairvoyance. I'd say it's pretty even as to which is more effective."

OOO then came in, swapping out his Medals to join Tarot. _**"Taka! Gorilla! Batta!"**_ OOO sent Dark sailing with a fierce uppercut as Tarot switched his state. _**"Fool Set! Rank 1!"**_ Tarot used the advanced fighting skills of the Fool State to do a spin kick as Dark came down, knocking her aside. Fenrir came in to retaliate, but Tarot swapped cards again. _**"Lovers Set! Rank 1!"**_ Fenrir got a surprise when the attack she threw at Tarot got redirected back to her.

Eager to follow up, Tarot readied another card. "OOO, I think I can handle Dark and Fenrir. Go deal with Mage." OOO nodded. "Good luck." He ran to deal join Gold and Battalion, who were keeping Mage on her toes with how fast they were. As he approached, OOO swapped out his Medals. _**"Sai! Kujaku! Zou!"**_ Mage was caught off-guard when OOO headbutted her from behind. She tried to retaliate with another bolt, only for it to blocked by OOO Kujaku shield.

Meanwhile, Tarot placed the new card into his Driver. _**"Magician Set! Rank 1!"**_ Tarot snapped his fingers and conjured a lightning attack that struck both Armored Riders. Fenrir managed to get on her feet and charged her sidearm. Sensing trouble, Tarot quickly swapped to another state. _**"Death Set! Rank 1!"**_ The blast hit Tarot dead-on, but Fenrir was surprised to see him still alive. "These cards each have a special skill," Tarot explained, "With the Death card, I'm effectively immortal."

He got out the Chariot card. "The Chariot, as you've seen, grants me extra speed." _**"Chariot Set! Rank 2!"**_ "And apparently each new rank makes the cards stronger," Tarot mused as he easily closed the gap between him and the Armored Riders. Dark got up to attack, but Tarot had already swapped out his state. _**"Fool Set! Rank 2!"**_ He quickly countered Dark's attack, then swapped out again. _**"Magician Set! Rank 2!"**_

Tarot blasted Dark away before sensing Fenrir coming up behind him, prompting him to swap again. _**"Chariot Set! Rank 3!"**_ He ducked under the attack and swapped out his states again. _**"Hierophant Set! Rank 1!"**_ The Hierophant State came with a weapon, a long staff, which Tarot used to counterattack Fenrir. He then spotted Dark aiming a blow at his head and quickly swapped again. _**"Death Set! Rank 2!"**_ The blow from Dark's Kani claws still knocked Tarot for a loop, but didn't take his head off like she was trying.

Tarot picked himself up and swapped his state again. _**"Hierophant Set! Rank 2!"**_ Dark found herself knocked to the ground by Tarot's sudden counterattack. Dark shook her head and attacked again, Tarot taking a different approach. _**"Chariot Set! Rank 4!"**_ Tarot's speed in the Chariot State let him dodge attack after attack, but he then gasped when he sensed Fenrir coming up behind him and he quickly changed states. _**"Death Set! Rank 3!"**_

He cried out at the barrage of attacks from both sides, only surviving thanks to his Death State. _"Damn it, just stay dead!,"_ Dark cried in frustration. Tarot picked himself up. "I guess you haven't realized it. What I said earlier, about our prediction abilities being equal? It was to get you to underestimate me. The only reason my clairvoyance is said to be thirty percent accurate... Is because once I tell people what I see, the future has a tendency to change."

Beneath her helmet, Dark's eyes widened. _"Oh no... His predictions are actually one-hundred percent accurate. They only become wrong when people act on them."_ "This whole fight I've seen how certain actions play out," Tarot explained, "It's easy to change the future when it's going to happen in the next few seconds." He got out the Hierophant card. "I can't use finishers yet, but I can render you unable to fight." _**"Hierophant Set! Rank 3!"**_

Back at the fight with Mage, Battalion was charging energy while OOO swapped to a combo. _**"Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... Sa-Go-Zo!"**_ Gold returned to her base form and charged as OOO swiped his O Scanner a second time. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ Mage found herself dragged into the ground and close to OOO and Battalion. "Sagozo Impact!" "High Octane!" "Rainbow Shining!" The triple attack, a Rider Punch, Rider Slash, and Rider Kick respectively, sent Mage flying, where she collided with Fenrir and Dark in midair.

Fumiko ran up to the trio when she saw this. "I don't think we can win this one," she said. Dark scoffed. _"Fine... But we'll settle this soon enough."_ She quickly conjured her escape mist. By the time the four Riders ran over to the group, they were already gone. "We keep fighting her back," OOO noted, "Yet we only know a few details regarding her plan. We can't keep playing keep up like this."

"By the way," Battalion said to Tarot, "You were using those cards in quick succession." Tarot shrugged. "I wanted to rank them up as fast as I could. Thanks to my clairvoyance, I could see the flow of the fight, which helped me escape danger a number of times." He looked up. "Junko's gonna start her plan by trapping the Hope's Peak student council, then manipulating them into killing each other. She'll broadcast the killing to the Reserve Course and let the mayhem take over from there." OOO was surprised. "Tell me that was a vision you had." Tarot nodded.

* * *

As a survivor during the time of The Tragedy, Yasuhiro's fate didn't need much changing. However, his journey with Leon's cousin Kanon went much differently, even convincing her not to take revenge on the Future Foundation when it was the Ultimate Despair that was the cause of her suffering. He was also able to infiltrate the Final Killing Game which helped drastically change how it played out. After The Tragedy, he settled down in the city, though he and others still didn't understand how it was Aoi he settled down with.

To be continued...

 **We now have a total of sixteen Riders. There won't be anymore, I decided on this number as a tribute to the Danganronpa series. Hope you like how Tarot works. Oh, and I'd like a favor. Can any of you readers help me decide on the finishers for Tarot? The names should be thematically appropriate but don't have to be. But they MUST be either a Rider Kick, Rider Punch, Rider Chop, Rider Slash, Rider Shooting, or Rider Thrust. Let me know in a PM what you think they should be. Read and review.**


	36. Chapter 36: Fanfiction

**Thanks to amosclw, one of my more frequent reviewers for this story, I now have a better idea of what finishers to give Tarot. And he'll be spending the next few chapters building up his power. But I bet you've been eager to find out what the bad guys are doing to further their plans. I'll get into that this chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 36: AI, Fanfiction, and a Strange Love

Fumiko smiled as she walked into the room. Just as Junko predicted, this was where the Hope's Peak Academy Steering Committee were holding it. She got out her phone, which was already rigged to go directly to her Foundation X superiors. "The AI has been located. Attempting contact now." She hung up and turned on the machine. 'Greetings,' said a computerized voice, 'You're arrival has been anticipated. Has my new body been prepared?'

Fumiko grinned. "Yes it has. But not by the academy. Their Ultimate Hope Program has proven useless due to a lack of volunteers. But we of Foundation X have prepared you a new body, and we can help you with your experiment." The AI was silent for a while. 'I see. Then you are aware of my probe. I designed it to give whoever it was stuck with my mindset. But it is currently in danger of malfunctioning under stress. I can anticipate your plans, and they have merit. Keep me here for now, to avoid suspicion. I will inform you when it is ideal to relocate me to your headquarters.'

* * *

Meanwhile, Hajime and Chiaki were in their homeroom for a gaming date. Both had beaten Gala Omega, Chiaki's favorite game, multiple times with Chiaki having more wins. So right now they were playing using the multi-player option. "So Chihiro asked me to help with a programming experiment of his," Chiaki said, "It involved copying my mind to an AI algorithm."

"How did it turn out?," Hajime asked. "Pretty good for the most part," Chiaki noted, "The AI's personality was a little off since it lacked my experience with others. It also had a tendency to keep silent for long periods, Chihiro joking that it had fallen asleep. And while it had my gaming talents, there's one game genre it lacks skill in... Dating Sims. While a computer can predict a lot of the program algorithms of most games, it can never truly understand the feelings of the heart... Also it tends to jump to the first option in a sort of trial-and-error."

Hajime laughed at that. Shortly after that they beat the game, and Hajime pulled Chiaki close. "I think I much prefer the real you to some AI anyway." Chiaki blushed, and the two pulled in for a kiss. As they did, Kazuichi came in. "Hey Hajime, we need to discuss-And I think I'll get back to you later..." The couple parted their kiss as he left and couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

"So," Hajime said later, "Now we have sixteen Riders. But just because we have the numbers does not mean we have the advantage. Even with Hiro's help, we only know so much about Junko's plan. And she's crafty enough to keep her wicked designs out of the Steering Committee's eyes. Not to mention she now has a new Armored Rider to assist her. Monaca Towa, now called Armored Rider Mage. We have to assume Monaca factors into her plans somehow."

"Hiro," Kazuichi said, "I made an adjustment to your Driver to account for your current style. You can hit a button right next to the card reader to shift it in reverse, then realign it to rank up a second time." That's when Celeste ran into the room. "Those brutes have just targeted my boyfriend!" The group looked at her like she had grown a second head, making her look indignant. "Yes, I just got a boyfriend. Don't act like it's so strange. Me and Hifumi happen to have a lot in common." She quickly saw her words did nothing to stop the stares.

* * *

The Armored Riders watched as the Fanfic Creator's Despair rampaged across the city, only to get stopped by Den-O's Ax Form. The Armored Riders then had to scatter as he was joined by Ixa, OOO, and Tarot. Mage quickly charged up an attack while Ixa got out one his fuestles. _**"Basshaa Magnum!"**_ Ixa used his weapon to match Mage shot for shot. Tarot meanwhile tangled with Fenrir, using the technique he gained to charge his card. _**"Fool Set! Rank 3!"**_ He took advantage of the extra fighting skill to knock back Fenrir.

Dark saw her sister struggling and broke away from OOO to help, only to get blocked by Den-O. _"Come on now, Yasuke,"_ she teased, _"Do you really want to fight me?"_ "Not really," Den-O said, and he swiped his Liner Pass. _**"Rod Form!"**_ "But I know I NEED to fight you, and that's all that matters." He proved his point by smacking Dark several times with DenGasher's rod mode. Fenrir, meanwhile, had knocked several tables and chairs into the air to land on Tarot.

Unfazed, he got out a new card. _**"Moon Set! Rank 1!"**_ He quickly created a bubble that seemed caused the flying projectiles to slow down in their descent. Fenrir, seeing this, came flying in to attack. Tarot responded by causing the tables to drop, then swapping cards. _**"Lovers Set! Rank 2!"**_ Fenrir got shocked when her attack bounced back, knocking her to the ground.

Meanwhile the Despair had taken to launching energy projectiles. OOO quickly swapped out his Medals to counter. _**"Shachi! Kujaku! Cheetah!"**_ The extra speed and Kujaku shield let OOO avoid damage while he got in close and sprayed the Despair with his water jets. Tarot, seeing both the Despair and Dark being knocked into the air, swapped his cards again. _**"Moon Set! Rank 2!"**_ He created a gravity bubble to slow both enemies down, then leapt into the air to strike them both with a spinning kick.

As the duo got knocked out of the bubble, Tarot swapped states again to follow up. _**"Chariot Set! Rank 5!"**_ Tarot sped over to where Dark landed before recharging the card. _**"Chariot Set! Rank 6!"**_ Dark found herself bombarded by high-speed attacks. The Despair, seeing Tarot wide open, tried to attack from behind. Tarot soon sensed this, and got out a new card. _**"World Set! Rank 1!"**_ Instantly time around Tarot froze, allowing him to counterattack the Despair.

As time returned to normal, Dark found herself hit the pavement. _"Jeez, what happened?"_ "Tarot's final state let's him freeze a moment in time," OOO explained, "Tarot, focus on the Despair for now." "Got it," Tarot said. Meanwhile, Fenrir picked herself up, hoping to get back in the fight, only for Den-O to approach her. _**"Gun Form!"**_ Fenrir wound up blindsided by Den-O's attack.

The Despair got up and attacked with another energy beam, Tarot swapping states to counter. _**"Sun Set! Rank 1!"**_ Tarot launched a stream of fire that held off the energy stream. The Despair seemed to gain the upper-hand, however. Thinking quickly, Tarot swapped cards again. _**"Death Set! Rank 4!"**_ Despite being thrown back by the energy attack, Tarot was able to survive.

Enraged, the Despair charged at Tarot, prompting him to swap out again. _**"Strength Set! Rank 1!"**_ Tarot stood his ground and grabbed the Despair, lifting and throwing it over his head. Meanwhile, Ixa swapped fuestles to strike Mage. _**"Dogga Hammer!"**_ The heavy strike sent Mage sailing, and right into Tarot. Luckily, Tarot sensed it coming, and he swapped his states again. _**"Lovers Set! Rank 3!"**_ Thanks to his quick thinking, Mage got reflected right into Fenrir.

Growling, both Armored Riders aimed a charged attack at Tarot. "Uh oh," he said as he swapped his cards. _**"Death Set! Rank 5!"**_ _"Geez,"_ Mage said when she saw Tarot survived, _"It's like we're just feeding him means to charge his cards."_ "Not always," Tarot stated as he got out another card, "Just the ones that force me to defend." _**"Sun Set! Rank 2!"**_ He conjured a fireball and launched it at the duo, blasting them back.

Fenrir had enough presence of mind to try counter-attacking with her blaster, but Tarot swapped out again. _**"Lovers Set! Rank 4!"**_ The blast redirected straight into the oncoming Despair, knocking it to the ground. "Tarot, watch it!," Den-O called out. Tarot turned to see Dark coming to attack. Quickly Tarot swapped to a new state. _**"Death Set! Rank 6!"**_ _"OH COME ON!,"_ Dark called out as Tarot picked himself up after being knocked to the ground.

"Okay," Tarot said, "My turn." _**"Chariot Set! Rank 7!"**_ He struck Dark several times over using his increased speed. Dark manged to break away and try to attack, but Tarot was ready for her. _**"Lovers Set! Rank 5!"**_ Dark found herself thrown back by the force of her own attack. Mage was really getting mad now, and fired off an energy wave. Three of the Rider simply jumped over the attack, but Tarot was too close and chose instead to swap his state again. _**"Death Set! Rank 7!"**_

Having been able to survive the attack, Tarot saw the Despair coming in. Ixa blasted the monster with his side arm, Tarot joining in with his own attack. _**"Sun Set! Rank 3!"**_ The Despair was knocked back, prompting Mage to come in to stop the two Riders. Tarot, thinking quickly, swapped his state again. _**"Magician Set! Rank 3!"**_ Tarot blasted Mage with an ice stream to slow her down before following up another card. _**"Fool Set! Rank 4!"**_ With a strong punch, Tarot knocked Mage out of her ice encasement and sent her sailing.

OOO then noticed Ixa had the Despair worn down. "Time to free our friend," he said as he activated a combo. _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"**_ The Despair stared to recover, only to be struck to the ground by OOO. Before it could get back up, OOO grabbed his Medagabryu out of the ground and fed it a few Cell Medals. _**"Gulp!"**_ OOO shifted his weapon to its bazooka form and took aim.

 _ **"Putotyranno Hissatsu!"**_ "Strain Doom!," OOO called out as the blast from the Medagabryu blasted the Despair, destroying it as its form erupted into Cell Medals. _"No!,"_ Mage called out, _"I picked out that Despair!"_ _"Relax, this is far from over,"_ Dark reassured her, _"Our plans are still in motion."_ She conjured her mist to let the Armored Riders escape.

* * *

"Yes, that's right," Hifumi said as his classmates were checking up on him, "I suspected Celeste was attracted to me somehow, I assume more my personality than anything else." "I even told him my real name," Celeste said, "Taeko Yasuhiro." "Huh," Yasuhiro said, "I somehow got a weird sensation. As if that tidbit ceased to be an important plot point. Weird." "When I first agreed to a date to the upcoming convention," Celeste said, "Hifumi was so excited he nearly broadcast to the whole school. It was really embarrassing."

"I even took a picture of it," Leon said. Sayaka was also in the picture, prompting her to laugh again. "Yeah. The scene was so hilarious I could barely help myself." "By the way," Chihiro said, "Have you heard about some of the kidnappings that have been happening lately? I nearly missed it what with the media scandal surrounding Okumura Foods, but several people have gone missing, and the police have reason to suspect kidnapping is involved." Yasuhiro, Aoi, Byakuya, Kyoko, Toko, and Makoto looked at each other, deeply disturbed.

* * *

During the time of The Tragedy, Hifumi was able to reign himself in during the brief time Alter Ego went missing, especially when Celeste explained it was to throw off the mastermind of the School Killing Game. However, it wasn't all good, as Kiyotaka had burned through his time as "Ishida", and the reality of his friends execution hit him like a ton of bricks, resulting in his suicide. In his memory, Hifumi vowed to write the two friends a much happier ending in his new manga.

To be continued...

 **We'll get to Taka soon enough, but I need to unwind and work on my Persona 5 fic. Hope Tarot isn't stealing the show too much. Read and review.**


	37. Chapter 37: Morality

**We're gonna do some buildup to a new set of villains that may seem familiar to Danganronpa fans. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 37: The Sociopath, Morality, and the Cracks

Mukuro sighed as she walked through the halls of the academy. Junko had already planned out a number of things she expected to happen by now. But so far things seemed to be okay with the school. Not that Mukuro wanted things to be bad. She was only helping Junko out of a sense of sisterly love. She absentmindedly placed a hand on the spot where her scar was, the first battle-related injury she had ever gotten. Hajime truly was a force to be reckoned with.

Just then, Mukuro wound up bumping into Kiyotaka. "Oh, sorry!," she blurted out. "You should watch yourself in the halls," Kiyotaka said, "Remember, the key to safety starts with yourself." Mukuro blushed as he said this. Kiyotaka had always reminded her of her old drill instructor back with Fenrir, only Kiyotaka was her own age so she didn't feel weird about getting a crush on him.

"You seem unusually upset today," came Mondo's voice as he, Chihiro, and Leon walked up. "Sorry," Kiyotaka said, "It's just that elections are coming up fast. It always reminds me of my failure of a grandfather." Kiyotaka's grandfather had been a former prime minister, and had completely botched his term. "It doesn't help that one of the current candidates for prime minister, Masayoshi Shido, was the one who exposed the scandal that forced Grandfather to step down from office," Kiyotaka noted.

"He always gets like this when talking about his past," Leon said to Mukuro, "In his opinion, his grandfather never truly worked for his position. It's why he hates genius, even though I'm pretty sure he might a genius himself." Mukuro nodded, then spotted Junko nearby. _'Oh great,'_ she thought, _'Now she has a new target to focus on. Well, I'm sure the Kamen Riders will take care of him anyway.'_

* * *

"I've made contact with the AI," Fumiko said to her superiors, "How are things on team two's end?" 'Slow going,' the man on the other said, 'With Raiga's incarceration we've lost our liaison with Shido's group. Kannagi has disappeared so we can't return him to his former position, and with the recent exposure of the Metaverse during the Okumura incident, we can't afford to train anyone else or we risk losing them too.'

"That's unfortunate," Fumiko admitted, "Shido's group only has Ishida to fall back on, and from what you tell me he's only good for controlling a small portion of the police." 'The good news we're still on course to complete our plans,' the man said, 'With the world in disarray, we'll have carte blanch to remake it as we see fit. Maintain your position for now, and await the AI's signal.' "Yes sir," Fumiko replied.

* * *

"Hey Mukuro," Junko said, "Can you keep an eye on this next Despair?" Mukuro looked a little reluctant. "You in there?," Junko asked, waving her hand in front of Mukuro's face. "Sorry," Mukuro replied, "What will you be doing?" Junko sighed. "Monaca went off to check on her school friends. Said something about experimenting with the brainwashing technology. I'd rather she not do anything that might jeopardize our plans." She walked out, but couldn't help but look back at Mukuro in worry.

* * *

Having gotten the word that Kiyotaka had been targeted, OOO, Birth, and Tarot went to deal with the newly created Moral Compass's Despair. Fenrir, who was alongside the creature, raised her sidearm when she saw them. "I'll handle Fenrir," Tarot said, "You guys deal with the Despair." He quickly switched to a new state. _**"Chariot Set! Rank 8!"**_ Tarot raced past Fenrir, clipping her on the way and breaking her concentration. He then followed up with a new state. _**"Temperance Set! Rank 1!"**_

Fenrir gasped as Tarot pulled out twin pistols and began firing them in tandem, creating a steady rate of fire that she found difficult to keep ahead of as she returned fire. Meanwhile, Birth and OOO were fighting against the Despair, which tried to halting their progress by slowing them down. "Takes 'no running in the halls' to a new level," Birth noted as he slotted a Cell Medal. _**"Springer Haken! Brighton Bit!"**_ The combination of CLAWs allowed Birth to knock the Despair to the ground, freeing up the duo.

"Go for long range then," OOO suggested, swapping out his Medals. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Batta!"**_ Birth nodded as he activated another CLAW. _**"Solent Edges!"**_ OOO fired off a few shots while Birth hurled the Solent Edges like a boomerang, striking the creature easily. Meanwhile, Tarot spotted a stray shot from OOO coming for him and got an idea. _**"Lovers Set! Rank 6!"**_ The shot reflected off him and got redirected to Fenrir.

The blast sent Fenrir sprawling as Tarot followed up. _**"Temperance Set! Rank 2!"**_ He kept up the rate of fire as Fenrir tried to close the distance. Once Tarot saw Fenrir getting too close, he quickly swapped cards. _**"Sun Set! Rank 4!"**_ He shot out a stream of fire that kept Tarot back a bit, buying him some time while he swapped out again. _**"Chariot Set! Rank 9!"**_ He then smirked beneath his helmet, as set another card. _**"Justice Set! Rank 1!"**_

Fenrir was flabbergasted when Tarot manifested a sword and started striking her at high speed. The attack sent her sprawling. _"You can use two states at once!?,"_ she asked in confusion. "I can now," Tarot explained, "Everytime I rank up with the World States, I gain access to a second slot for my cards. Speaking of, if you thought that last attack was high-speed..." He got out the World card. _**"World Set! Rank 2!"**_ Time instantly paused, allowing Tarot to get in many more strikes before letting things flow again.

As he did, he saw that Moral Compass's Despair had spotted the fight and was coming in to interfere. As Tarot got out another card, he chuckled. "I feel like I'm about to make a reference with this." _**"Fool Set! Rank 5!"**_ Tarot paused time again, then lashed out with his strongest punches against the Despair. The force of the blows blasted the creature back once time started flowing again.

"You should focus on the important fight," OOO called out, "Your own!" He swapped out his Medals again. _**"Taka! Unagi! Batta!"**_ The Despair found itself wrapped up by OOO's whips and Birth's crane arm. In desperation, it fired off a slow beam at Tarot, causing him to swap out his World card. _**"Lovers Set! Rank 7!"**_ The shot reflected and struck the monster, making it easier to contain.

 _"I'm not making this easy to finish,"_ Fenrir declared as she went after Tarot. Sensing her, he swapped out the Lovers card. _**"Sun Set! Rank 5!"**_ Tarot ducked under the first attack, and retaliated with a quick flaming fist, followed by a burning spin kick. "These combination skills are quite useful," Tarot noted as he got out another card to replace the Fool card. _**"Temperance Set! Rank 3!"**_ Using the guns from this state, Tarot opened fire on both the Despair and Fenrir.

The Despair managed to break free and attempt to attack Tarot, who swapped cards while Birth activated another CLAW. _**"Emperor Set! Rank 1!"**_ _**"Vermillion Bucket!"**_ The Despair found its attacks blocked by a battle mace and shovel. The two Riders pushed the Despair back, letting OOO strike him a few times. Tarot then turned his attention to Fenrir as he swapped cards again. _**"Magician Set! Rank 4!"**_ The Emperor's mace, combined with the spells from the Magician State, proved quite effective against Fenrir.

Fenrir managed to dodge one shot and rushed in to attack, prompting Tarot and Birth to prepare a defense. _**"Strength Set! Rank 2!" "Brighton Bit! Vermillion Bucket!"**_ The boosted strength helped hold off Fenrir's attack, and Tarot followed up by lifting and throwing her into the Despair. He then replaced his previous state to follow up, and included a new card. _**"Emperor Set! Rank 2!"**_ _**"Devil Set! Rank 1!"**_ Tarot seemed to radiate with energy as he swung his mace to send Fenrir sprawling.

"Guys!," OOO called out, "Ready for set up!" Tarot and Birth looked to see Moral Compass's Despair was tied up again. Nodding to each other, they picked their weapon of choice. _**"Temperance Set! Rank 4!" "Salamander Launcher!"**_ The two of them charged up and fired, sending the Despair sprawling. Seeing a chance to finish the Despair, Tarot swapped out his cards. _**"Chariot Set!"**_

"No new rank announcement?," he wondered, "No matter, that probably just means its maxed out." He grabbed a switch on the side of the card holder and pulled it, covering the Chariot card. _**"Fate Sealed!"**_ Gasping, Fenrir ran quickly to intercept as Tarot sped toward the Despair with a two-footed drop kick. "Victory Crash!" Fenrir managed to get in front of the attack, taking the brunt of it as both her and the Despair went down.

Tarot got up from his attack and tilted his head. "Didn't see that coming..." He saw Fenrir get up and pull out her sidearm. He quickly responded in kind. _**"Temperance Set! Rank 5!"**_ He fired off a few shots to get Fenrir and the Despair separated. "I'll make sure Fenrir doesn't interfere again," he said to Birth, "Get that Despair taken out before it loses anymore Medals."

Fenrir tried to fire off a shot to keep Birth contained, but Tarot was a step ahead. _**"Lovers Set! Rank 8!"**_ He got in the way of the shot, reflecting it back at Fenrir, who managed to dodge. "I think I've had enough of your actions," he noted, switching out his cards. _**"Sun Set! Rank 6!"**_ _**"Emperor Set! Rank 3!"**_ Swinging around the burning mace, Tarot managed to get in a couple of good hits, sending Fenrir sprawling at one point.

Fenrir did her best to dodge before finding an opening to move in. Seeing this, Tarot quickly swapped cards again. _**"Devil Set! Rank 2!"**_ "And another," Tarot said as he hit the reverse switch and replaced the Emperor card. _**"Devil Set! Rank 3!"**_ _**"Strength Set! Rank 3!"**_ He then proceeded to hit the reverse switch again. _**"Strength Set! Rank 4!"**_ Tarot quickly sent Fenrir crashing to the ground with a blaze-covered punch. Meanwhile, the Despair had been struggling against OOO and Birth. OOO finally got the creature tied up again. "Birth, now!"

Birth activated all his CLAWS at once. _**"Birth Day!"**_ Birth charged all the energy he had into the Salamander Launcher and fired. "Cell Bash!" The stream of energy obliterated the Despair, scattering it into Cell Medals which Birth quickly retrieved. Fenrir got up and saw the fight was over. _"Guess this works out for me..."_ she muttered before escaping using her grappler. "By the way, Tarot," Birth said, "I thought those extra slots unlocked when you got a certain number of levels." Tarot shrugged. "I'm hoping it might catch her or Dark off-guard."

* * *

Junko sighed as she looked at the four sleeping kids in the truck. She then turned back to Monaca. "So... Tell me again why you were trying to convince these kids, one of whom I may add seems to like-like you, to commit suicide?" "I needed to make sure the technique we were given works," Monaca explained without hesitation, "Once they were finished I didn't need them anymore. Um... What exactly was I doing wrong, Big Sis Junko?" Junko sighed again. "If you don't know the answer to that, then my lessons haven't really been sinking in. Let's get them to our hideout. I'll try and explain it to you there."

* * *

During the time of The Tragedy, Kiyotaka had to suffer depression upon learning his best friend Mondo had committed murder. He kept his resolve, however, and vowed to avenge him by brining the mastermind that caused the situation in the first place. This allowed Kiyotaka to survive past the School Killing Game. His leadership when helping with Future Foundation eventually led to him becoming Prime Minister of Japan after the Tragedy ended.

To be continued...

 **Come on, you knew the other Warriors of Hope would have to show up at some point. Also, quick question, does the whole "Fate Sealed" thing from Tarot's first finisher sound too cheesy? And yes, by now you guys have noted the reference between World State's time stopping powers and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. It was completely intended, believe it or not, as I couldn't think of any better powers for the World State. Props to amosclw for the Victory Crash idea, though his original design included a follow-up punch, which I thought wouldn't work for the finisher. Read and review.**


	38. Chapter 38: PE

**We're getting into the last few chapters before the final arc, and we're soon to introduce a new set of enemies. Now, some things were happening in Nine Phantom Thieves that will be explained here. Also, something else will be happening. Now I always intended to include the cast from V3, but originally I intended for them to show up at the very end as Hope's Peak is reopened. But I recently got inspired to do something else entirely. This will showcase Mirror's base form, which resembles a combination of Kamen Rider Ryuga and Kamen Rider Abyss, colored silver to resemble mirrors. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 38: A Drill, P.E., and a Prison

Fumiko was overlooking the procedure as the four children were being empowered with the new systems. Junko sighed. "I tried explaining the whole thing to Monaca, how driving someone to suicide doesn't help them feel despair. Suicide is an escape... From everything. When you're dead, you lose the need to feel anything. I think she understood on a practical level, but I'm concerned about her condition. Maybe her family broke her more than I thought." She sighed. "I shouldn't have deviated from my original intentions, but something about the Black Medals just made me want to experiment with them..."

* * *

"Feels like I'm getting shuffled from one major issue to another," Kyoko noted, "First I learn how to awaken my own Persona while investigating Ishida, now it's all hands on deck for some new project from the academy." With more and more good press coming into Hope's Peak due to the positive feedback from the Reserve Course, and the rumors that the Kamen Riders, now internet celebrities, were students and alumni from the Academy, the Steering Committee decided to ride the wave and go one step further in their pursuit of researching talent.

Part of that was the loosely connected Hope's Peak Elementary, which was a elementary school designed to promote the growth of child prodigies, called Li'l Ultimates. And now they were making plans for a Gifted Inmates Academy, where talents students who were classified as juvenile delinquents could get the chance to be rehabilitated and develop their talents. And has it happened, a facility existed on an island called Towa City that was perfect for the job. The only downside was it needed extensive remodeling, as the former owner had just built and built with no regard for structure.

Sixteen students, each of whom had committed various minor crimes, had been scouted for this purpose, being offered amnesty upon graduation. In lieu of effective guards, however, it was suggested that the Kamen Riders themselves safeguard the new academy. "I hope they realize all sixteen of us won't be there all the time," Kyoko noted, "I still have work with the Phantoms case, and me and Sae-san are planning an operation to capture the one behind the mental shutdown cases." "And I still have my own duties as headmaster of Shujin Academy," Kyosuke added.

"I'm fully aware of this," said Jin, who was also in the room, "But the Steering Committee doesn't seem to think it will matter, since none of the students selected are particularly dangerous, at least not to innocent civilians. One was rumored to be a serial killer known as the Ladykiller for a time, but the real Ladykiller was captured shortly before the academy was started. As such, there's no issue with one or two Riders leaving for a large period of time." "Still," Gundham said, "I sense battle on the horizon. My Twelve Zodiac Generals have been trembling in anticipation of the violence to come."

Gundham's Four Dark Devas, being hamsters, had soon gotten certain urges and had eventually mated. The results were twelve new hamsters with traits similar to their parents. Gundham claimed it the was the Devas "passing the torch to newer, younger warriors". "Guess we'll have to keep on our toes," Hajime noted, "Time to suit up, folks!" "This will be a good chance to show my new base form," Yuto noted. The group got out their Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Arcana Set!" "Water State!" "Cyclone! Ace!" "Fist On!" "Infinite! Mirror!" "Sword Form!" "Joker!" "Skull!" "All Magic!" "Chu!" "Liger Mode!" "Mighty Form!" "Kamen Ride! Decade!" "Style: Avian!" "Gashapon Active!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

* * *

Later that day, Kaede Akamatsu sighed. She had just entered one of the classrooms in the school building of her new academy. Sure, she had always wanted to join Hope's Peak Academy, but due to an unfortunate incident that landed her in juvie, the opportunity had passed her by. This would be the next best thing. She turned around as she heard the door open and saw a young man her own age wearing a cap. She remembered sitting next to him on the ship with the other fourteen students.

"Ah, hello there," the man said, "Just thought I'd take the time to wander a little before orientation." In addition to the minimal faculty at the facility, the students were told they would be watched over by a series of specialized guards. Kaede seemed confused at this, since to the best of her knowledge none of them had done anything to warrant such security. "Why go to such lengths? It's not like we're planning to escape." "Maybe it's more to keep something out than in," the man suggested.

"Something out?," Kaede asked. The man nodded. "This academy isn't common knowledge yet, but imagine if the wrong people got wind of it. They could blow it all out of proportion. None of us have really done anything truly terrible, but the general public doesn't know this." "Speaking of which," Kaede said, "I don't think I caught your name." "Ah, that's right," the man replied, "I'm Shuichi Saihara. They call me the Ultimate Detective, even though Hope's Peak Academy already has one. I guess they allowed me to have the title since this is technically a separate facility."

"I suppose that makes sense," Kaede admitted. Shuichi nodded. "As for how I earned the title, I discovered my knack for solving mysteries on accident. One day I helped my uncle's detective firm with a particularly difficult disappearance case. Since then I've specialized in such cases. Unfortunately I got caught up in my desire to see criminals get locked away. My uncle's agency got involved in the Madarame case, you see, looking for some of his missing students. While testifying in court about my investigations, I was caught committing perjury. Luckily it didn't hurt the case due to me being an amateur, but it still got me suspended and sent to juvenile hall."

"That seemed unnecessary," Kaede noted, "Didn't Madarame confess to all his crimes from the get-go?" Shuichi blushed. "I guess I somehow overlooked that... So, what about you?" "Oh yeah," Kaede said, "I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. I've been playing the piano since I was big enough to crawl. Most of my classmates called me 'Piano Freak', but I can't help it. I just love classical music. Overtime my skills were enough to compete with some of the more professionally trained piano artists. I've even won awards from some of my concerts."

"That's amazing!," Shuichi exclaimed, causing Kaede to blush, "But, how did you wind up here...?" Kaede sighed. "A particularly nasty critic berated me for earning an award he felt a more popular but less skilled pianist should have won. I was so mad at him for belittling the talent I've built up over so many years that I just slugged him." Shuichi looked aghast at that statement. "Wow... I mean, sure he deserved it, but that could have been handled better." "You aren't kidding," Kaede admitted, "Still, the only reason I was sent juvie was because I committed assault, but the courts were surprisingly sympathetic after hearing my story."

The two of them headed out of the classroom and into the hallway. "Jeez, this place looks overgrown," Kaede said, "This place was built by a member of the Towa family, right? You'd think they'd spring for better arrangements." "I recall them saying they'd be renovating overtime," Shuichi noted, "It should look presentable after a few days." Just down the hall was another young woman. She seemed to be deep in thought, but snapped out of it when she noticed the duo. "Oh, hey there," she said, "I don't think we've been introduced. My name is Tsumugi Shirogane, and I'm the Ultimate Cosplayer."

"So, you're a professional cosplayer then," Shuichi surmised. "Yeah," Tsumugi replied, "Most people don't think too much of it, since I'm so plain-looking." "I don't know about that," Kaede said, "You seem to have this almost sexy aura about you, the kind you expect from a cosplay specialist." Tsumugi looked surprised. "Huh? Sexy...? No one's ever called me sexy before. Then again, it's really only my face that's plain-looking. When I'm in costume, the rest of me tends to stand out."

"So why did you wind up as part of this program?," Kaede asked. "Ah, it's kinda silly," Tsumugi said, "See, a lot of the costumes I use for cosplay are my own creations. As such, I'm fine with other people wearing them. But lately, there are a lot of cosplayers putting themselves before the characters. It's gotten so bad that I snapped while at a convention and destroyed a person's costume. So yeah, I got charged with aggravated assault. Though it was just the costume that got damaged, I never injured the person wearing it. Thankfully it didn't lose me any of my sponsors. I think they understood how I was feeling."

"By the way," Shuichi said, "Earlier you looked like you were deep in thought. What were you thinking about?" "Oh that?," Tsumugi replied, "I was thinking about this dragon statue behind me, and how out of place it looks. I got the chance to ask one of the construction workers about it, and he got rather annoyed. Not at me, but at the reason for the statue being there. Something about a time-delayed puzzle made up by the original owner."

"It does look out of place," Kaede noted, looking at the oriental dragon statue, "Then again, the school building we're in was just one thing that was built by the original owner." Tsumugi joined the duo as they headed for the first floor of the building. Inside the girl's bathroom there, Tsumugi and Kaede found a hidden wall inside the utility closet, but it was closed off with a biometric lock. "I suddenly have a feeling of deja vu," Tsumugi noted. "Like one of your favorite anime?," Kaede asked. Tsumugi shook her head. "If it was, I'd have mentioned which one. I'm quite the otaku."

As they exited, Shuichi came out of the boy's bathroom. "Let me guess," he said, "You found something inside the utility closet?" Kaede nodded. "Do you think it's something only the faculty can access?" "That would be my guess," Shuichi replied, "There were some odd symbols on the door, which looked rather familiar. Ten in total." "Our side only had six," Tsumugi noted, "What sort of facility could be behind those doors...? It's like some Super Sentai hidden base, like Himitsu Sentai Gorenger."

"Super Sentai are just on TV," Kaede noted, "Though if you told me it was a base for a Kamen Rider, I might believe you." Nearby, the trio ran into another young man who seemed a little relaxed. "Hey there," he said, "I see we're all starting to gather. My name is Rantaro Amami, and I'm the Ultimate Adventurer." "Wow," Tsumugi said, "How do you get a title like that?" "My family always had a case of wanderlust," Rantaro explained, "As a result I wound up exploring most of the known world. Hunted dangerous beasts, discovered several cryptids, and journeyed through numerous ruins and caverns."

"So how does that get you in our current situation?," Kaede asked. Rantaro sighed. "I was talked into this hunt. Some shady guy had seen what seemed to be a migrating bear far from it's natural habitat. I should've known something was shady about it, because it turned out I'd been roped into an illegal canned hunt. I got off easy due to being scammed, but I still got juvie for my trouble." "I'm sensing a pattern here," Shuichi noted, "Seems we all wound up in this situation through no fault of our own, relatively speaking."

"That's probably why the guys in charge of Hope's Peak see no problem associating with us," Kaede said, "It's easier to get us rehabilitated if we already understand where we went wrong." Rantaro nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Oh yeah, have you noticed some of the locked doors around here? Seems some of them lead to research labs for us. Most of them still need to be outfitted, but the first few should be opening up after orientation." Near Rantaro's location was the dining hall, where two young girls were located, one of them dressed like a witch.

In the nearby kitchen was a big, jovial man with a toothy yet friendly grin. "I think I recognize that guy," Rantaro said, "He's a alumni from Hope's Peak Academy proper. I believe his name is Daisuke Bandai, the former Ultimate Farmer." "I guess he'll be acting as the cook for he school," Kaede noted. "He seems friendly enough," the witch girl said, startling the group. Seeing this, she said, "Ah-ha! Behold the surprise of my invisibility magic!" "Actually," Tsumugi said, "We were too focused on Daisuke."

The girl looked sullen. "You could at least play along... Anyway, my name is Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Magician! I have mastered the greatest secrets of magic, passed down by the likes of Harry Houdini, Howard Thurston, and Doug Henning! I and my mentor have trained with some of the most modern legends, such as David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Criss Angel, and even the mysterious Masked Magician! Escape arts, disappearing acts, death-defying illusions... I have mastered them all!"

She looked a little downtrodden. "But what I really want to study is real magic. I know it exists out there, but it's so elusive that not just anyone can learn it. In fact, I've heard rumors of a famous magical school somewhere in the highlands of Scotland. But the only thing I've ever seen there was some old ruined castle. I think I may be on the right track though, since whenever I tried to examine the ruins for clues... Against my better judgement I wound up turning around and leaving. If not for my mental training I wouldn't have given two thoughts about it."

"Has anyone else you know experienced this odd phenomenon?," Rantaro asked. "Sure," Himiko replied, "Several of my friends from the Hall of Magicians were with me. Oh yeah, the Hall of Magicians is where I earned my reputation as a master magician, being the youngest person ever to earn the Magician of the Year award." "You must know some pretty cool magic tricks then," Tsumugi said. Himiko puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Street magicians use 'tricks'. And while I do know plenty of street-level magic, real magicians like myself use high-end illusions. The sort of things I can pull off with all my gear and friends are far too sophisticated to be called mere 'tricks'!"

She frowned and sighed. "There I go again... This is what got me in trouble the last time. A rather nasty heckler was belittling my magical talent, calling it mere trickery. Granted magicians don't use real magic, everyone knows that. But they don't have to be rude about it. I wound up kicking him right in the balls, then scratching his face savagely when he dropped to his knees. Luckily his injuries weren't permanent, and the courts ruled him at fault for setting me off like that. Still, I had to be suspended for my own actions."

"If you ask me, that degenerate male got off easy," the other girl said, "Any man that would abuse a woman just because he can should not be allowed to continue his actions." "Oh yeah," Rantaro said, "We were just about to get to you. So, who might you be?" The girl struck a martial arts pose before yelling out a kiai. "I am Tenko Chabashira! The Ultimate Aikido Master!" "Wow!," Kaede said, "I wasn't expecting a cute girl to be an aikido master."

"It's because I'm a cute girl that I need self-defense training," Tenko explained, "Anyway, my sensei and I have mastered all aspects of aikido. Because of that, we started a brand new school. Neo-Aikido, a version of aikido that takes the fight to the aggressor! It still uses the familiar self-defense moves, but also includes the means to counter-attack. It was designed to defend others, instead of just oneself."

"I think I've heard something about that," Shuichi mentioned, "A martial arts teacher and student defending young girls from molesters on public transports." "Yeah, I'm no stranger to the police," Tenko admitted, "But because all my attacks were in defense of victims or myself, I've only ever needed to give a statement and that was the end of it. That is, until my instincts proved to be my undoing... One day some guy grabbed my shoulder and I threw him by instinct. However... It turned out be a foreign tourist trying to get directions."

"Ouch...," the others said at once. "Yeah...," Tenko replied, a little embarrassed, "He dropped the charges, but I still allowed myself to be incarcerated for the sake of penance. That's why I'm here now." The quickly growing group next headed over to a large warehouse. There were plenty of items in it, including sixteen odd-looking vending machines. "What kind of drinks are these?," Kaede asked. "Those aren't drinks," said a rather crass-sounding girl not far from them, "If you look closely you can see signs that these are fold-out toys. These vending machines actually have more to them than they appear, but because they belong to the security team I can't touch them to know what they really do."

"I see," Kaede said, "So, who are you, anyway?" The girl blinked. "You mean you haven't heard of me? I'm a little surprised. Anyway, I'm the girl whose golden brain will down in history, the Ultimate Inventor Miu Iruma!" "Inventor, huh?," Rantaro said, "What sorts of things have you invented." "A number of different gadgets," Miu explained, "Some mundane, some exceptional. I'd say my biggest achievement was an endoskeleton system that can perfectly mimic a living being. It's mostly used for some bear mascot developed by the Towa company, but it still shows how genius the design is. Oh yeah, and there's also that eyedrop contact lens I developed so I could keep my eyes moisturized while I work."

"That's your invention?," Kaede asked, "Some of my friends wear those!" "I know, right?," Miu said smugly, "Even my accidents developed to help my inventing process are genius." She sighed. "But even a genius isn't infallible. See, I've been relying on prescription meds to keep my mind buzzed and active. But my regular supplier in Yongen-Jaya got too busy developing a new medicine designed to target a genetic disease. In desperation I bought some meds off the first person to sell them to me... And got promptly arrested for possession of illegal drugs."

"And I thought I had problems," Tenko said sympathetically. "It's all good," Miu said, "I never actually took the drugs personally, so I got off light. And other people who got mixed up in the drug issues around Shibuya got it way worse. Least until that fat bastard Kaneshiro got what was coming to him." The group soon headed for the other side of the school. An open classroom featured a comical site, a short young man chasing around some sort of mechanical humanoid. "Please stop that!," the humanoid said in a male voice, "I do not wish to be chased any further!"

"Come on," the other man said in a rather childish tone, "This is my first time meeting a real robot." Miu's eyebrows shot up. "A robot...?" That got the attention of the two. The humanoid spoke up first. "Ah, yes. I suppose it should be obvious from my technological appearance. My serial number is K1-B0, known officially as Keebo Idabashi. I am the Ultimate Robot." Miu gasped. "Did you say Idabashi? As in the genius roboticist Professor Mirai Idabashi!? One of the scientists responsible for the Roidmude project!? He's been an inspiration to me for years!"

"That's right," Keebo said, "Professor Idabashi is my creator, which I suppose also makes him my father." "The guy's surprisingly human for a robot," the other guy said. "That is due to the strong AI developed by my father," Keebo explained, "Of course, I am merely the prototype, but it still speaks volumes of the AI's effectiveness that I am fully self-aware and functional." The smaller guy snickered. "Does that mean you're anatomically correct?" "I hope so...," Miu muttered in a dreamy voice, "It would make him the perfect man..." Keebo seemed flustered at that comment, and to everyone's surprise he was blushing.

"Anyway," Shuichi said, hoping to steer the conversation to something more comfortable, "You're attending high school like a normal person?" "Ah, yes," Keebo said, "The production model of the strong AI can give an automaton a variable amount of intelligence as programmed, but as the prototype I was learning from scratch, like a human developing from infancy. I was mostly taught by my father, as well as his scientific partners Tenjuro Banno and Krim Steinbelt. I never truly liked Dr. Banno, but overtime Dr. Steinbelt became something like an uncle to me."

"What made you hate Dr. Banno so much?," Tsumugi asked. Keebo sighed. "Dr. Banno was never respectful towards his fellow humans, let alone robots like me. His own children were seen as little more than experiments to him. Dr. Steinbelt by comparison was a true philanthropist, always eager to help out his fellow man and treating robots like humans. Father was always the mediator of their arguments, especially after Steinbelt discovered Banno had been torturing Roidmude 002 just to blow off aggression from a failed business arrangement."

He frowned. "Actually, it was because of Dr. Banno that I was placed in a juvenile detention center in the first place. Because of my father, Banno was unable to inflict Roidmudes with the worst aspects of human emotions, and he got so mad about it he tried to take it out on me. Naturally I retaliated, but the results caused some significant property damage. I'm only too glad there were no casualties, though the only reason I think this for Banno is because he was incarcerated as a result of his part in the incident. He won't be free for a long time."

"My turn, my turn, my turn!," the other guy said excitedly, "I am Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader!" The others looked blankly at him. "What does that even mean?," Kaede asked. "It's simple," Kokichi explained, "I'm the head of a country-wide gang of clowns and pranksters." "Country-wide!?," Shuichi asked, "How many people are part of it!?" Kokichi laughed. "Got ya! I really do run a group of pranksters called DICE. But in reality there's only ten of us, myself included. Out of all of us here, I'm probably the most overtly criminal. Even then I'm not a real bad guy, having only committed a number of petty crimes since forming DICE."

"And what does the acronym stand for?," Keebo asked. "DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises," Kokichi said. Tsumugi blinked. "Are you saying you got your name from an anime!?" Kokichi snickered. "Yep, we sure did! Keeps folks guessing. Anyway, like I was saying, my group only does minor crimes, stealing snacks from convenience stores, spraying graffiti here and there. Nothing that could seriously damage a person's business, reputation, social life, or health. And above all, no physical harm to any living being. A supreme leader needs to have standards, after all."

"So then," Kaede asked, "If all these petty crimes are tied to your talent, why are you even being rehabilitated?" "Because I'm a consummate liar," Kokichi admitted, "Oh, there are plenty of things I say that are true, but I lie so often it's hard for anyone outside my group to trust me. And it's all too easy to deceive people. Not to brag, but I come off as rather innocent-looking to most people." "He does give off that innocent vibe most of the time," Kaede admitted. "And yet I can easily change my facial expressions like the clown I am," Kokichi replied, giving off a truly nightmarish face that made the others shrink back in shock.

"Don't do that!," Keebo called out, "I was about to hit you with my rocket punch!" Kokichi returned to his normal child-like appearance when he heard that. "Ooh, you have a rocket punch!? What other cool features do you have!? Can you fly with some sort of jet pack!?" "Not normally," Keebo replied, "I'd need to attach one to my modular armor, which is the clothing you see me wearing." Miu blushed. "Wow... So you have some sort of body under all that tech...? Maybe you can show me in private later..." Now Keebo was the one getting flustered.

Afterwards the group descended into the school's basement, where they were surprised to find a small game room. In addition to a few arcade cabinets, there were some large board games. "Looks like we can find plenty of fun around here," Kokichi said, "I'm a pretty intelligent guy, and my family's rich, so it's easy for me to get bored. Luckily the world's such a chaotic place that finding ways to break the boredom is just as easy. In fact, the second most important rule of DICE is to just have fun. All of my friends are from rich families, heck I think one of them has a blood connection to a samurai lineage."

"A bit strange for a school though," Rantaro noted, "Then again, the original owner did throw whatever he wanted into the building of this place." "It is a bit strange," said a young man with a deep voice who was even shorter than Kokichi, "Not to mention the roots growing into this place are causing some of the machines to be non-functional. I imagine that'll change as time passes, however. Ah, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro."

"Oh yeah," Shuichi said, "I remember reading about your legendary skills in the papers. You've actually beaten Olympic-class tennis champions." Ryoma smirked. "Yep, I've been developing my talents since I was strong enough to walk on my own. And now, my sights are set on the biggest tennis tournament of all time... Wimbledon. In the history of the sport, only one Japanese tennis player has ever gotten close to winning. I intend to succeed where he came up short. After this rehabilitation is cleared up, of course."

"That reminds me," Kaede said, "What did you do to get yourself in this program?" "I got a little too crazy with my training," Ryoma admitted, "A stray shot during my drills smashed into the window of a businessman's car. I also accidentally nailed him in the head with the same shot. I'm just glad the ball I used was a regulation. Sure, it might have hurt him badly, but the wrong kind of shot with the wrong kind of ball could be lethal."

The next room to look through was the library, but the group noted how disorganized it looked. "I hope they do something about all this," Keebo said, "This is not the way to treat literature." "It's probably because none of the books are meant for reading," said a young woman who was also in the room, "They were all written by members of the Towa family. Personal diaries and things like that. Many of them are illegible to anyone who didn't write them."

"So what purpose does it serve to keep this room open?," Tenko asked. The girl shrugged. "Might have something to do with the hidden room behind that bookshelf over there. I asked one of the faculty workers, and he explained it was for the security personnel of the facility." "So," Himiko said, "Just who are you?" The girl closed her eyes. "I'm Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Assassin." There was a collective gasp. "You're an assassin!?," Tsumugi said, "Like Golgo 13?"

"Sort of," Maki replied, "Though I'm strictly government regulated, only being called to target criminals that are extremely dangerous yet untouchable by the law. In case you're wondering why I'm in this program, it has to do with my other talent, being a child caregiver. At the orphanage where I grew up, the older kids take care of the younger ones, so I wound up becoming quite skilled since I was one of the oldest kids there. I became a trained assassin after a section of the government offered to fund the orphanage. Well, one day a paparazzi tried getting some dirty secrets from the orphanage. Some conspiracy nut thinking the kids there were for the enjoyment of the faculty. I gave him a black eye for even thinking such things."

"I guess you really care about the other kids in your orphanage, huh?," Kaede said. Maki smiled. "Yeah, they're the only family I've really known. And they always flock to me for a number of reasons. I've been playfully mobbed to the floor on a number of occasions. Anyway, I was sent to a correctional facility after that. Probably for the best that I had to take some time off from my regular work. That section of the government who hired me. Their chairman is currently on the radar of the Phantoms."

The group gasped. "You mean... Masayoshi Shido?," Kokichi asked. "It's only a matter of time," Maki noted, "Ishida's vendetta against the Phantoms means he's likely their next target, and given he answers directly to Shido... I think you know what that implies." "And just in time for elections too," Miu noted, "Shido's one of the candidates for prime minister." Maki nodded. "So basically, I dodged a bullet. Being in this program means I'm officially severed from Shido's influence."

Back on the first floor, it seemed the entrance hall had opened up. In through the front doors walked a young man with a cloth mask over the lower part of his face. "Oh. It seems the people in this group are starting to gather together. Rather convenient, I've just been told that orientation will begin within the hour. Ah, but I'm forgetting my introductions. I am Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist. But please, call me Kiyo for short. Most of my friends and associates do."

"Gotcha," Kaede said, "So... Anthropologist?" "Simple put," Korekiyo explained, "It's the study of human civilization. Customs, legends, folk tales, songs, and much more. Ever since our species achieved sentience society has evolved tremendously, and it is the purpose of people like myself to chart the course of this evolution. It has always been a great passion of mine, but also a tremendous weakness. In fact, that ties into the reason I am in this program. While returning from a trip abroad, airport security discovered that I had accidentally been smuggling cultural artifacts illegally. It's a bit embarrassing, as I normally double-check to make sure I go through all the necessary procedures."

"Where did these artifacts come from that it kicked up such a fuss?," Ryoma wondered aloud. "The Kingdom of Khur'ain," Korekiyo explained, "It has been receiving more and more tourists ever since the dark age brought about by the Usurper Queen Ga'ran ended. I have an entire paper written on the subject, but the abridged version is Ga'ran made it a law that any lawyer who failed to defend their client would share the client's punishment, which unfortunately included the death penalty."

"A misguided attempt at ridding the country of crime?," Maki asked. "Nothing so well-intentioned, I'm afraid," Korekiyo replied, shaking his head, "She simply saw defense attornies as an obstacle to her rule. With them in place it would be impossible for her to secure her grasp over the country. Thankfully, that period of darkness is over, as it was revealed that Ga'ran lacked all the qualifications that entitled her to the throne." "All this talk aside," Miu said, "I'm wondering where we'll be staying." "Ah, yes," Korekiyo replied, "There's a dormitory just outside.

The area outside was surrounded by a large concrete wall, above which was a large cage-like structure. "I guess this was designed with my modular armor in mind," Keebo noted. "The people who brought us here called it the 'End Wall'," Shuichi said, "Rather appropriate, since it's meant to separate us from the outside world until the program's over." The entire area looked overgrown, and it was clear construction was going on. "Place still looks shabby," said a guy with spiky hair, "But at least the dorms are fully completed, so we can sleep easily at least."

"You don't seem overwhelmed by the cage hanging over our heads," Maki noted. The man scoffed. "This cage is nothing compared to the vastness of the universe. And I know much about the universe. For I am Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, and gifted with the title of Ultimate Astronaut!" Ryoma scoffed. "You're an astronaut?" "Well, I am still in training," Kaito admitted, "But I am the first teenager to pass the exam. Although the cost of that ties into the reason why I'm in this program."

He rubbed the back of his head. "See, I have this friend who's pretty crafty, and I had him forge a few documents for me. It's been my dream to get to space, and I got a little impatient. Luckily, the guys in the program took a liking to me and let me stay on, but I still had to pay my debt to society somehow. And this was it. As was once said in a video game, impossible is just a word people use to feel better when they quit. As long as there's even just a one percent chance for a happy ending, I'll bet on it... Every time!"

Maki smiled. "Well, he's certainly energetic..." She tried to hide the fact that she was already developing a crush. Right across from where Kaito was they found the dorms, an octagonal building with two levels. In the center was a young woman wearing a maid outfit. "Now points for guessing her Ultimate talent," Kokichi quipped. The woman simply gave a warm smile. "Yes, I suppose it would be obvious. My name is Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid."

"That must give you quite the skill set," Tsumugi noted, "The only time I've ever dressed as a maid was when it was an anime character." "I heard Kirumi can do any request asked of her," Shuichi noted. "Almost," Kirumi replied, "There are some requests I won't do on moral principle. Above all else, giving a person sexual gratification is right out. If I do offer my body to someone, it would be out of love rather than obligation. On this I do not intend to budge." "Duly noted," Miu said, "Note to self, no sexy maid jokes..."

"So what got you into this program?," Ryoma asked. "An unfortunate lack of temper," Kirumi explained, "You see, I primarily work at a maid service. However, one of my clients mistook it for a call-girl service, and I believe you can connect the dots from there." "Face or balls?," Miu asked. "Both," Kirumi admitted, accepting the fist-bump Miu offered her. "With so many of us having violent crimes on our record," Kaede noted, "Are you sure this security team is keeping people out rather than in?" "It's called extenuating circumstances," Shuichi reminded her.

The next student could be found just outside in a large park-like area. He seemed rather giant compared to the other students and had a neutral look on his face. Scary as he was, Kaede approached him and said, "Excuse me?" The man looked surprised and, in a surprisingly gentle voice, said, "Oh? Thank you!" Confused, Kaede parroted, "Thank you?" "Gonta scary-looking," the man, Gonta apparently, replied, "So most people not want to talk to Gonta when meeting for first time."

"Guy's a lot more of a cream puff than his size and strength would suggest," Kokichi noted. "So," Gonta continued, "Like gentleman, Gonta say thank you, for talking to Gonta." Tsumugi giggled. "He's much more of a sweetheart than you'd expect, isn't he?" "Oh, that remind Gonta," Gonta said, "Gonta never make introduction! Gonta's name is Gonta Gokuhara, and Gonta is Ultimate Entomologist! Gonta want to become true gentleman, that is Gonta's true goal!"

"Wow," Tsumugi said, "He reminds me of Johnathan Joestar." "Joseph is way better," Rantaro quipped. "Yeah, maybe," Tsumugi admitted. "You kinda have some broken Japanese there," Kaito noted, "But you've gotta be smart if you're an entomologist." "No, Gonta not smart," Gonta replied, "Just know lot about bugs. Gonta always searching for bugs ever since Gonta small. Well... Smaller than now, since Gonta always been bigger than other kids. But searching get Gonta in trouble twice in Gonta's life."

"How so?," Tenko asked. "Well," Gonta explained, "When Gonta focus on finding bug friends, it easy to lose track of where Gonta is. As a kid, this got Gonta lost, but soon found by friendly tribe of Reptites." "The same Reptites that lived in hiding since the KT extinction event?," Rantaro asked. "Yes," Gonta replied, "Gonta live in Reptite village until found by men wearing bug suits ten years later. They seem scared of Reptites at first, but soon realized Reptites friendly. Must have been good men, since they dress as bugs."

"Men dressed as bugs...," Tsumugi muttered, "They must have been early Kamen Riders!" "That what men call themselves," Gonta said with a nod, "Second time Gonta get in trouble looking for bugs was when Gonta accidentally wander onto private property. Gonta not smart, so not realize Gonta trespassing until Gonta hear owner of property yelling at Gonta. Anyway, this place strange. Lots of foliage, but no bugs." "I doubt they plan on keeping the foliage as is," Kirumi noted, "And any bugs there were have likely been relocated to your Research Lab. We may find out when it finally opens." "Gonta hope so," Gonta said.

Finally the group reached a large atrium. Sitting in front of a waterfall fountain in the middle was a dark-skinned girl with white hair and wearing swimwear with a yellow coat over it. "Ah," the girl said, "I finally feel at peace. The voice of Atua helps calm me." She then noticed the group that had gathered. "Ah, this is everyone, yes? I am Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist!" "An artist, you say," Korekiyo said, intrigued, "What would be your area of expertise with that field?"

"Oh, I specialize everywhere," Angie stated. "Atua gives me the inspiration, and from there I just let my body do the rest of the work." "Atua...," Korekiyo noted, "I see, so you are from an island nation. Likely a priestess or medium of some kind." "Yes, yes," Angie replied, "But, unfortunately, Atua's voice may not be for anyone outside my village. When I first transferred to Japan, I sought to spread the word of Atua. There were some eager to follow, but sadly they proved too fanatical."

"Which led to you getting involved in this program," Shuichi surmised. Angie nodded, her cheerful demeanor not fading. "See, some of the followers I had gathered chose to commit robberies when I started to run low on art supplies, even though Atua says it is bad karma to steal. Because the thieves named me as their leader, which to be fair wasn't wrong, I got charged with accessory. Of course, it was possible to argue in my defense, but Atua told me it is better to accept the program, both to atone for my mistake and to better my artistic talent."

She then looked at the name plaque at the base of the waterfall. "That said, I hope there is enough room at this academy for two gods. This fountain is meant to be a shrine for someone soon to ascend to godhood. At least, Atua has suggested an ascension is imminent." "Man became god?," Gonta asked, "Can such a thing happen?" "There are documents claiming such," Korekiyo admitted, "But there has been no hard proof it can happen. Still, if it does... Wouldn't it be beautiful to see it with our own eyes?"

* * *

OOO sneezed under his helmet as he, Tarot, Birth, Mirror, and Joker stared their newest foes. Armored Rider Mage was familiar, but there were four more with her. "Get ready for the greatest warriors you'll ever see!," bragged a young boy from inside an Armored Rider suit that was yellow and white, doing a quick pose "I am Armored Rider Hero!" Another young boy inside a blue suit did his own pose. "I am Armored Rider Priest!," he said with all his might, but he sounded half-way bored.

The next voice was young girl inside a red and orange suit, who sounded rather exuberant. "I am Armored Rider Fighter!" The next voice was another young boy, though more mature, and coming from inside a brown and gray suit. "I am Armored Rider Sage!" Mage then took her turn. "I am Armored Rider Mage!" Hero then announced, "We fight against the vile demons that plague this world! We are the Warriors of Hope!" "The irony...," OOO muttered, knowing that Mage was working directly with Junko, who was an advocate of despair.

"Nothing ironic about it!," Hero declared, "We're here to expose the secrets of this Demon Breeding Facility! And to keep you from reigning as a Demon God!" OOO couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Are you trying to justify your actions? No matter. We're here for one reason, to ensure the students at this academy earn their desire and become freed from their petty crimes. Let's go, Riders!" Tarot started off by slotting two card. _**"Magician Set! Rank 5!" "Fool Set! Rank 6!"**_ He fired off a few shots to counter Sage's sniper shots, getting in close to attack.

Sage tried a close range charge shot, but Tarot was ready with another card. _**"World Set! Rank 3!"**_ Stepping out of the way of the shot, Tarot followed up with a few rapid-fire attacks before letting time flow again. Caught off-guard, Sage found himself sprawling across the ground. "No way!," Hero called out as he grappled with OOO, "He's totally pulling a Dio Brando!" "Rule number one of being a hero, kid," OOO said, breaking away before swapping Medals, "Never be afraid to fight dirty, because your enemies sure as hell won't be." _**"Taka! Unagi! Batta!"**_

OOO used his whips to wrap up Hero's drills, causing them to malfunction. Meanwhile, Fighter was swinging her axe at Mirror. As he dodged, Mirror activated a card by slotting it into the visor contained in his chest. _**"Shield Vent!"**_ The card manifested a kite shield with a mirror sheen to it, the Reflect Bounder, which Mirror used to block the axe. "Nice try," he said, pushing Fighter off him, then slotting another card. _**"Sword Vent!"**_ The card manifested the Sheen Cutlass, which looked to have a reflective blade. "Basic weapon trinity," he told Fighter, "Swords counter axes." He demonstrated with a few quick attacks.

Sage picked himself up and readied a charge shot. This time Tarot decided to try a brand new card, replied the Magician. _**"Priestess Set! Rank 1!"**_ The card conjured a translucent wall that blocked the attack quite easily. Elsewhere, Mage was finding herself on the receiving end of Birth's Haze Crawlers. The fact that they were caterpillar treads made each kick feel like a chainsaw, only less lethal. Sage reloaded his rifle to fire again, but Tarot simply reloaded the card. _**"Priestess Set! Rank 2!"**_ The shield returned, stronger this time.

"Damn it, why can't I hit him?," Sage wondered, firing another shot. Tarot simply reloaded again. _**"Priestess Set! Rank 3!"**_ Once again, the shield protected him. "As I recall," he quipped, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results." "Hey Sage," Hero said, "Tag out with me. I can't seem to make any headway with their leader." "What's a headway?," Priest asked, dodging another kick from Joker. "About five pounds, give or take," Fighter joked, earning her a quick hilt shot from Mirror. "Pay attention to the fight."

"He's got a point," Sage commented, "We should only be joking during the fight when we're actually _winning_." Still, he rushed to try his luck with OOO. Hero confronted Tarot. "Let's see you get past my unstoppable drill attack!" He charged forward, as Tarot slotted a new card. "I'll try my luck." _**"Fortune Set! Rank 1!"**_ To Hero's shock, Tarot managed to duck under the drill attack and deliver a hard stomach punch, missing the drill by inches. "How...?," Hero asked, still reeling. "The Fortune Arcana lets me get in one lucky shot per reload," Tarot explained.

"Then you won't dodge a second time!," Hero called out, rushing in again. "Maybe not," Tarot said, "But I still have another card installed." _**"Priestess Set! Rank 4!"**_ Hero found himself stopped by the shield again. While he was stopped, Tarot reloaded the Fortune card. _**"Fortune Set! Rank 2!"**_ Tarot launched a punch at Hero that wound up sending him sailing. Joker saw this and loaded a Gaia Memory. _**"Violence-Joker!"**_ Using the hammer shot from the Memory, Joker sent Priest sailing into Hero.

"Two for the price of one," Tarot noted, swapping out for a new card. _**"Temperance Set! Rank 6!"**_ The two Warriors scrambled to avoid being shot as Tarot started blasting in tandem, while Joker came using a new Memory. _**"Sword-Joker!"**_ Striking the two Armored Riders, she saw Tarot prepare a new card in an opened slot. _**"Judgement Set! Rank 1!"**_ He also swapped out cards. _**"Moon Set! Rank 3!"**_ The two Warriors found themselves lifted into the air by Tarot's Moon power, then struck repeatedly by Tarot and Joker, Tarot using a giant war hammer.

Tarot then swapped cards again, keeping Judgement but trading out the other two. _**"Emperor Set! Rank 4!" "Fortune Set! Rank 3!"**_ Using both the mace and hammer, Tarot sent the two warriors spinning vertically as they got knocked back. Mage managed to break away from Birth and start shooting at Tarot with her staff, but Tarot was ready to counter. _**"Temperance Set! Rank 7!" "Lovers Set! Rank 9!" "Fortune Set! Rank 4!"**_ The Lovers card reflected Mage's attacks while Tarot fired the twin pistols, knocking Mage's staff out of her hand while also blasting her in the chest.

Hero got up and tried attacking Tarot, but Tarot swapped out his cards again. _**"Justice Set! Rank 2!"**_ Using his sword block Hero's drill, Tarot found himself getting pushed back a bit. Quickly he changed cards again. _**"Judgement Set! Rank 2!"**_ He used the hammer to knock back Hero a good distance, then swapped out for another card. _**"Magician Set! Rank 6!"**_ His hammer covered in lightning and sword covered in fire, Tarot continued to press his attack.

Sage tried to charge another shot, only to get his rifle tangled by OOO's whips. He did managed to aim long enough to get a shot off, but by that point Tarot had noticed and swapped cards. _**"Priestess Set! Rank 5!"**_ The shield came up to block the shot, and while Sage was still busy struggling against OOO, Tarot took the chance to make another attack. _**"Fortune Set! Rank 5!"**_ Tarot swung his hammer, knocking Sage closer to OOO, who struck with a mighty kick of his own. "Tarot, follow it up!"

Tarot obliged by swapping out cards again. _**"Emperor Set! Rank 5!" "Fortune Set! Rank 6!"**_ The shot from the mace caused Sage to go sprawling against each of the other Warriors. Seeing Mage still prone, Tarot decided to go for a quick finisher. _**"World Set! Rank 4!" "Lovers Set!"**_ Tarot instantly froze time, then pulled the switch on his Driver closed on the Lovers card. _**"Fate Sealed!"**_ Several mirrors appeared in a circle around him and Mage, which he quickly rebounded across, striking Mage with a flying kick each time. As he came in for a final attack, he called out, "Reflection Charge!"

Once time unfroze, Mage felt the full force of the attack. Hero tried to get up to help her, but Tarot was ready with a final card. _**"Strength Set! Rank 5!"**_ Tarot used his increased strength to hold Hero in place. "OOO, time to finish it!" "On it," OOO replied, switching to a combo. _**"Sai! Gorilla! Zo! Sagozo... Sagozo!"**_ Swapped to his Sagozo form, OOO swiped his O Scanner a second time. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ OOO lifted into the air, crashing down and trapping Hero in this ground, Tarot letting go to make sure he didn't caught. As Hero was drawn toward OOO, he called out, "Sagozo Impact!"

The force of the blow shutdown the armor Hero was using, causing it to spit him back into reality. "A kid?," OOO asked in shock. "I'm not just a kid!," the boy said, "I'm Masaru Daimon, the Li'l Ultimate PE! And the leader of the Warriors of Hope!" "Only because you beat us all in Janken...," Priest muttered. "We can't let our fearless leader die here," Mage said, "Grab him and retreat." Fighter picked up Masaru, and the group disappeared from the island. OOO made a quick call. "Kyosuke, did anyone sneak onto the island while we were busy?" 'Not according to the nano-cameras Kazuichi made,' Kyosuke noted, 'We'll keep watch just in case.'

* * *

Later the Kamen Riders were introduced to the students by Haiji Towa, who would be acting as the headmaster for the academy. As Haiji made his speech, Decade turned to Core. "I don't like him." "He does seem to be extolling his family's virtues," Gold noted, "Perhaps a little too much. He may be relying too much on his family's reputation." Ixa scoffed. "Rely too much on family lineage, and it could cost you in the end. Even I know that." If Haiji heard the group, he didn't show it. He was focused too much on using this academy to prove himself to those who felt he wasn't as good as his father.

To be continued...

 **If the V3 cast seems a little out of character, that's because they aren't being played up for TV. As such, I think I'm afforded a little bit of leeway here. Regardless, I hope you all like the reasons I had them signed up for this inmates academy. Read and review.**


	39. Chapter 39: Art

**Alright, let's get back to it. Time for the next part of the Gifted Inmates arc. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 39: Training Zone, Art, and Labs

After orientation, the Kamen Riders headed through a large obstacle course that made "I Wanna Be The Guy" look like "Super Mario Type". Haiji was sore at not being able to include his own hand-picked security team, and had the builders make the training course that was requested the most difficult money could buy. Of course, almost all of the Kamen Riders had powers that no money on Earth could buy. For those that didn't, Haiji was learning pretty quickly why Kazuichi earned the title of Ultimate Mechanic.

The worst of it was, the Riders apparently knew what Haiji was doing, and yet complimented him on it anyway. "Hey Haiji," Decade said, "Not to be flip, but we're getting used to this real quickly. Think you can spice it up before I return next week. I still have my own school to watch over after all." Haiji grumbled. Being made headmaster of the Gifted Inmates Academy was his claim to fame over Kyosuke, who was his rival from their time in Hope's Peak. But it was marred by Kyosuke getting to be a headmaster first.

* * *

The students found the dorms they were given small yet comfortable, the one oddity being the numerous copies of their personal uniforms. Each room had its own key that students were required to keep on their person at all times. Kaede found herself drifting off to sleep quickly, Chopin's "Prelude" playing in her mind. It brought forth a dream of her first real concert, where she played such a peace. It went just as well as it did then, but the thing that made her realize it was a dream was that her new classmates were there as well, cheering for her along with the rest of the crowd.

* * *

The next day, it was clear work was being done to improve the academy. Already rubble was cleared away and some sections were being worked on. As Shuichi and Kaede headed for the dining hall, the looked in awe at the giant mechs being used in the construction. "That's some impressive work," Miu said once they reached the dining hall, "This Kazuichi character certainly knows his engineering. Why is his title merely 'Ultimate Mechanic'?"

"That's for the academy to decide," Korekiyo noted, "But regardless, it seems some areas are already starting to open up. The courtyard is much more accessible than it was when we first got here." "I'm more interested in the mysterious items that can be seen around the school and courtyard," Kokichi said, "There are some areas that are completely locked away." "Gonta more interested in boiler room," Gonta chimed in, "Saw bug men come out from manhole in there. Went down to check. Entire obstacle course in there."

Maki bit her thumb. "An obstacle course in the boiler room? If those Kamen Riders are our security detail, they may be using it for training." Tsumugi was thinking to herself. "What's up, Tsumugi?," Rantaro asked. "I was just thinking," Tsumugi said, "It's the first time I've used a boat to travel anywhere. Do you suppose we're on some sort of island?" "It wouldn't surprise me if we were," Kokichi replied, "I mean, this entire academy is owned by the Towa family. How far could we possibly be from Towa City?"

* * *

Over the next few days, the students found some of the labs opening up. Miu's lab was already available near the courtyard. "Check it out, peons!," she said excitedly, "I get an entire building all to myself!" The entire lab was full of mechanical implements, chemicals in specially sealed containers, a large table for experiments, and numerous whiteboards. Miu seem almost in ecstasy. "I can already feel my golden brain buzzing with new ideas. I can finally get started on that hacking gun idea I had."

"What would you need a hacking gun for?," Keebo asked. "It's meant for shutdown electronics in industrial areas," Miu explained, "It basically forces the malfunctioning machinery to move again using program codes delivered via electromagnetic waves. Or at least, that's the theory behind my idea. Still haven't had a chance to get started on it yet. But now I have all the resources I need and then some!"

Kaede's lab was also available on the second floor. She screamed in delight at the sight of the grand piano gracing the center. There were also notes and CDs lining the shelves along the walls, plus an audio device to use them, and a large blackboard with music staffs already imprinted on it. Kaede's eyes sparkled as she lifted the cover over the keys. She played a quick rendition of "Flea Waltz" to get herself warmed up, since it had been some time since she had touched a piano.

* * *

The same day, OOO, Tarot, Skull, Gold, and Aqua found those same kids from before trying a second time to get inside. OOO was already tangling with Hero, while Priest decided to try going after Tarot. "Taste my missile assault!," Priest called out as he fired a few rockets from his hands. Tarot simply activated one of the cards he already had. _**"Moon Set! Rank 4!"**_ The bubble of gravity Tarot created sent the rockets flying away from the battlefield before blowing up. He then set a couple more cards. _**"Fortune Set! Rank 7!" "Devil Set! Rank 4!"**_

As Priest was sent sailing with a burning punch, Hero managed to knock OOO into the nearby ocean. "That should take care of you!," he said smugly. But then he heard a familiar sound. _**"Shachi! Gorilla! Cheetah!"**_ Hero looked in surprise as OOO sprung from the water, his Shachi helmet letting him breath underwater. He then struck Hero hard with his Gorilla fist. Meanwhile, Sage was having a shootout with Skull. Sage seemed to be getting the upper hand, until Tarot decided to step in. _**"Temperance Set! Rank 8!"**_

The sight of Sage getting blasted from two different angles caught Mage's attention, and she knocked Gold back a bit before trying to intervene. However, Tarot was on to her and brought out a new card. _**"Hanged Set! Rank 1!"**_ Tarot got Mage tied up with a long chain weapon, then he reset another card. _**"Moon Set! Rank 5!"**_ A quick stomp got Mage floating in the air as Tarot spun her around to slam her into Sage.

Seeing her teammates in trouble, Fighter attacked, prompting Gold to step in. _**"Amber Magic!"**_ Fighter's attack bounced off Gold, which Tarot took advantage of. _**"Sun Set! Rank 7!" "Devil Set! Rank 5!" "Hanged Set! Rank 2!"**_ Wrapping his flaming chain around Fighter's axe, Fighter had no choice but to let go due to the searing heat. Charging at Fighter, Tarot boosted his cards yet again. _**"Emperor Set! Rank 6!" "Devil Set! Rank 6!"**_ Fighter grunted as the searing mace slammed into her gut. "So apparently pain gets transferred in through the armor," she said, "That is so not adorbs."

She rolled over to get her axe and swung, Tarot swapping cards to counter. _**"Hierophant Set! Rank 4!"**_ The staff that appeared blocked the axe, which allowed Tarot to push the attack off him. He then reset a previous card. _**"Emperor Set! Rank 7!"**_ He delivered a few attacks, but stopped when he saw the other Warriors approaching. "This calls for something new," he decided, getting out a new card. _**"Star Set! Rank 1!"**_ A few round objects appeared in his hands, which he dropped. The other Kamen Riders ducked their heads, but the Armored Riders got a surprise when the objects turned out to be flashbang grenades.

As the blinding light cleared, OOO took the chance to attack, swapping out his Medals. _**"Taka! Tora! Cheetah!"**_ OOO raced through the area, slashing at each Warrior in turn, sending them sprawling. Priest got up, only to face Tarot. _**"Devil Set! Rank 7!" "Emperor Set! Rank 8!" "Sun Set! Rank 8!"**_ Tarot gave Priest a good wallop before switching weapons. _**"Judgement Set! Rank 3!"**_ Priest got struck several times with the flaming hammer before trying to retaliate. But before he could launch his missile, Tarot swapped out again. _**"Star Set! Rank 2!"**_

Priest found himself blinded, causing the missile to go wide. Tarot took advantage of the situation by slipping some new cards. _**"World Set! Rank 5!" "Fool Set! Rank 7!"**_ Time around Tarot froze as he pummeled Priest over and over before letting flow again. Mage come in to help, but Tarot had a few more cards to try. _**"Hanged Set! Rank 3!"**_ Mage tried flying in close to negate the chain's range, but Tarot got out another card to prevent that. _**"Star Set! Rank 3!"**_ Mage tried to cover her eyes quickly, but that still gave Tarot the chance he needed to get some space, and set another card while he was at it. _**"Sun Set! Rank 9!"**_

Mage found herself struck several times by a flaming chain. Tarot closed the distance with each swing before switching weapons. _**"Justice Set! Rank 3!"**_ From flaming chain to flaming sword, Tarot continued to push Monaca back a few steps before resetting one of his cards. _**"Sun Set!"**_ "Maxed out!," Tarot said excitedly, "Prepare to get served!" He pulled the switch closed on the Sun card. _**"Fate Sealed!"**_ A miniature sun, minus the gravity, formed in Tarot's hand, about the size of a baseball.

Launching it from his palm as if from a rocket, he called out, "Big Bang Supernova!" The miniature sun slammed into Mage and exploded with tremendous force, sending her flying. "Mage!," Sage called out, quickly aiming for Tarot. Tarot turned his head and charged another card. _**"Star Set! Rank 4!"**_ He tossed the flashbang near Sage, blinding him and leaving him open. _**"Magician Set! Rank 7!" "Hierophant Set! Rank 5!"**_ Using the staff as a catalyst, Tarot fired off several elemental blasts at Sage.

Hero came rushing in, catching Tarot's attention as he swapped out cards. _**"Hermit Set! Rank 1!" "Fool Set! Rank 8!"**_ Using the Hermit's power, Tarot was able to easily dodge around Hero's attacks due to his heightened senses, while using the fighting prowess of the Fool card to counter-attack. Meanwhile, OOO came up behind Priest, activating a combo. _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"**_ Priest whirled around to confront OOO, but too late as OOO swiped his O Scanner a second time. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_

Priest found himself pinned by OOO shoulder spikes, then frozen by the Ptera wings. "Blasting Freezer!" OOO struck Priest with his tail, deactivating the armor and causing it to spit out a young boy in an oversized smock and wearing a patchwork mask. "That's an odd thing to wear," Gold noted. "Just who are you?" The boy shook his head but didn't up. "Huh? Oh, I'm Jataro Kemuri, the Li'l Ultimate Art. And bird skin isn't yummy no matter how you cook it." "How dare you!," Gold called out, "Crispy chicken skin is the most wonderful sensation to grace one's mouth!"

Jataro looked confused. "Chicken's are birds? But they don't fly." Hero leapt over and grabbed Jataro. "No time for semantics! We gotta get outta dodge!" The group disappeared at once. OOO reported to the rest of Riders. "Makoto. See if Kogami can look up anything from Hope's Peak Elementary regarding Masaru Daimon or Jataro Kemuri. And see what you can learn about any of their classmates." 'Got it, OOO,' Makoto replied.

* * *

"That's twice now," Junko noted as the Warriors returned, "This is perhaps my last real chance to put my plan into motion. If the Reserve Course learns that the academy is responsible for harboring criminals, it would drive them into a frenzy." "Is it really just harboring them, though?," Mukuro asked. Junko shrugged. "Heck if I know, even as the Ultimate Analyst I need information in order to draw a conclusion, which is we're trying to get that information."

"Why haven't we tried sneaking in while the Warriors distracted the Kamen Rider?," Mukuro asked. "Oh, that?," Junko replied, "I considered it. But then I realized that there's no way the Kamen Riders would send more than five of their number out to handle our new friends, leaving the other eleven to patrol and potentially catch us. It's a waste of time. Still, we need something new if we're going to pull this off." She looked at the Black Medals. "The energy's running low, but I can still make a few more Despairs."

To be continued...

 **Yeah, we still have a few more fates to overturn here. Also, you're probably wondering why there was no glimpse into the future for this or the previous chapter. That's because neither Masaru nor Jataro have really had their fate changed... Yet. I need to keep something around to fight in the final chapters. Read and review.**


	40. Chapter 40: Biker Gang

**So... There are people who think I'm pursuing the Warriors of Hope arc to the very end... Well, HA! This isn't the Warriors of Hope arc, it's the Gifted Inmates arc. Which means we'll be returning to what this fic was originally meant for, at least for the time being. It's time to overturn someone else's fate. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 40: Puzzles, Biker Gang, and the Two Brothers

"How did I get wrapped up into this?," Makoto asked out loud. While Kogami was busy looking into the Hope's Peak Elementary angle, Makoto had been asked by Mondo and Kiyotaka to oversee a sauna duel between them. When Mondo decided to handicap himself by keeping his clothes on, Makoto insisted that he hold onto Mondo's e-handbook, since it could easily be destroyed by intense heat. Sighing, Makoto thought, _'I knew those two were like oil and water, but...'_

Just then, he saw a mass of Medals fly out of the sauna, followed shortly by Kiyotaka dragging Mondo's unconscious body out. "It happened again, Makoto!," he explained, "Right as Mondo was talking about his brother!" "His brother?," Makoto asked, "Well, hopefully once we defeat this new Despair, Mondo can explain. I'll contact the team at the new academy. I think I know what Dark is planning this time."

* * *

As Shuichi was getting dressed for a new day, he heard his dorm's intercom ringing. When he opened it, it turned out to be Kaede. "Hey," she said, "We're all gathering in the dining hall. Apparently there's something important happening today." "Alright," Shuichi said, "I'll be there in a minute." Kaede nodded. As she turned to leave, she couldn't help but think. _'He looks so cool without his hat on.'_ Shuichi, still inside, rubbed his chin for a second before he finished dressing and walked out the door.

* * *

When he got to the dining hall, he found pretty much all the students, especially Kaede, staring at him. "You finally got rid of that emo hat," Kokichi quipped, "Atmosphere too sunny to keep you depressed?" "Oh that?," Shuichi said, "I noticed Kaede was blushing when she saw me without the hat on, so I thought I'd try going without it for a while." The others turned to Kaede, who was turning as pink as her sweater. "A hard-boiled detective and a club pianist?," Miu asked, "Like something straight outta film noir."

"Well," Kirumi said, "Now that we are all here, I've prepared breakfast for everyone." "I thought that Daisuke guy was the one doing cooking," Miu noted. "I offered my assistance in order to practice my Ultimate talents," Kirumi explained, "He was more than willing to accept. We have Italian omelet, buttermilk pancakes, smoked salmon galette... And for those who prefer a more Japanese-style breakfast we have rice balls and miso soup."

"Kirumi, by my mom!," Kokichi called out, the most innocent look on his face. "Gonta want you to be his mom, too!," Gonta said. "Please don't say things like that," Kirumi replied, "I get rather annoyed when people my own age ask me to be their mom." "Sorry," Kokichi said, "Couldn't help myself. You act so much like a team mom it just sorta popped out." "So," Gonta said, "Kirumi not everyone's mom?" That got the group laughing as they sat down to eat.

"Wow, even Keebo's eating," Kokichi noted, "I didn't know robots could eat." "Ah," Keebo replied, "That is because my father designed me so that I can consume foodstuff and convert it into biofuel. I've even been installed with taste sensors to encourage doing so." "He's like Genos from One Punch Man," Tsumugi said excitedly, "Except... Do you have anything organic?" "I wouldn't be a robot if I did," Keebo said pointedly, "But certain parts of me can approximate organic components."

"It's amazing how quickly we all got used to each other's company," Rantaro noted, "We all come from different schools after all. I don't think we'd have even met if not for this situation." "A blessing in disguise," Angie agreed, "Atua is certain all of us will become great friends by the end of this program." "That reminds me," Ryoma said, picking his candy cigarette back up, "Wasn't there something important we were called here for?" "Thanks for reminding me," Daisuke said as he came out of the kitchen, carrying a large box.

He opened the box up, revealing some sort of spirit tag, a red sphere, an ocarina, and a hexagonal crank. "This box was released from a timed safe early this morning," Daisuke said, "Apparently as part of your rehabilitation, you're supposed to find out where they go on your own. Learning teamwork, I assume." "Well," Kokichi said, "Let's take a look around. There's a bunch of stuff seen around the campus that seems out of place. That might be where we place these objects."

* * *

The first object seemed obvious. The red sphere, a "Dragon Gem", matched the missing eye on the dragon statue Tsumugi had earlier seen. Once it was placed, the entire statue and the wall behind it crumbled into fine powder, exposing a hallway behind it. "The air in the hallway feels stagnant," Kirumi noted, "How long has it been since anyone set foot in this hallway?" As she said this, the sound of air conditioning seemed to go up, as if to get the air moving again.

The first door lead to a Victorian-style dining room, a mannequin family seated there, as well as cleaning supplies behind a folding door. "I see," Kirumi said in delight, "This is clearly meant to be my lab. The mannequins are obviously meant for image training." "The Victorian era," Shuichi noted, "That period had its highs and lows. On the one hand, it was at that time that the most noble street gang ever produced, the Rooks, owned most of London's underground and kept it under control. But at the same time, that was also the period when Jack the Ripper made his infamous killings."

"Why Victorian though?," Kokichi asked. "During the Victorian era," Korekiyo explained, "Owning a maid was considered a status symbol. If you could hire servants, that spoke volumes about your personal wealth. That was the mindset during those times." Kirumi wasn't the only one to find her personal heaven on earth. Gonta's lab was just a few meters away. Inside were insect specimen displays along the walls, several insect eggs lining the shelves, and numerous terrariums holding whole colonies.

"Amazing!," Gonta said in delight, "This paradise! So many new bug friends! There even books about how to take care of bugs, or identify bugs. And yes, Gonta can read Japanese quite well, even if Gonta cannot speak it perfectly." "You'd think with muscles like yours you'd be quite the bruiser," Kokichi noted. "Well," Gonta said, "It not like Gonta never fight. Just never start fight. But if other person start fight with Gonta, Gonta have no choice but to finish. Gentleman can fight too, after all. Just cannot rush to violence."

He looked at the displays. "These clearly made with love and care. They shine brighter than sparkling rocks." "You do realize those are made with dead bugs, right?," Kokichi asked, recoiling from his own words. "Bugs die quickly," Gonta said sadly, "That just fact of nature. But that just make their lives shine brighter! And look, more bug friends soon to hatch! All sleeping in cool place. Once Gonta start to take care of them, Gonta sure they hatch soon."

There were also stairs leading up to the third floor, which held Ryoma's lab. Ryoma whistled in appreciation of the large indoor court, complete with serving machines and rebound machines. "I can keep my skills sharp here." He opened a door in the back to reveal a large shower room, which looked down on what appeared to be a pool area. "I don't think we've found the entrance to the pool yet," he noted, "Maybe one of the items we have will fix that?"

On the same floor was Maki's lab. There were plenty of weapons, but also lots of training equipment. "Most of these weapons are just to keep my skills sharp," Maki noted, "They're all too noisy to be used in assassination. Drawing attention to oneself while on the job is an assassin's death sentence. As a professional, I prefer weapons that can kill quickly and quietly. But I wouldn't be the Ultimate Assassin if I couldn't handle any weapon I got my hands on."

Back on the first floor, there was a hole in the wall looked like it was designed for the spirit tag, called the "Ancient Passport". In fact, there were two other tags on either side of the hole. Placing the tag into the hole caused the wall to crumble away, leading to a new lab. From the sight of the equipment, it was clearly Himiko's. "There's a lot of stage tools and special props here," she noted, "I can use this to put on a fantastic magic show!" The sight of her jumping into the air, causing her hat to seemingly levitate off her head, got Tenko squealing. "Himiko's so adorable when she does that!"

Himiko raised an eyebrow. "Are you... Crushing on me?" Tenko got flustered when she heard that. "Maybe..." "Why is there a cauldron in the center?," Kaede asked, hoping to change the subject. "It's just a prop," Himiko explained, "Keyfabe to distract the audience and give the psychological impression of real magic. And yes, I did just day kayfabe. It's not restricted to wrestling, you know." Just then, a faint mewing was heard. "Nyeh?," Himiko said. She felt along the walls and found a button, opening a secret panel. Just behind it was a white tiger cub in a cage.

"Is that a tiger cub!?," Tsumugi asked in shock. "Yep," Himiko said as she got the cub out and started cuddling it, "This is my familiar, Mahou. He was donated to my magic club from birth, and I've raised him ever since." Tsumugi seemed to be in a stupor. "It's so adorable..." "And surprisingly friendly," Himiko noted, "Of course, even a cub raised by humans can become dangerous, so all caution must be observed." To prove her point, she retuned Mahou to his cage. "I'm glad he was brought here. I was worried what might happen to him if I wasn't there to take care of him."

Tenko blushed. "Himiko has such a big, strong heart for her little body." "Still, to think there would be a hidden panel in this room," Korekiyo noted, "It is truly a research lab worthy of the Ultimate Magician. I can only wonder at what my own lab will hold." "That's true," Kaede agreed, "At first only mine and Miu's labs were available. Why were some of them blocked off?" "Probably part of the program," Kokichi noted, "They wanted to make sure we were behaving enough to deserve getting a little slice of heaven. Speaking of which, I noticed none of the labs have locks. Is that going to be an issue?"

"Most of the weapons in my lab are squibs," Maki noted, "The ones that are real are kept under lock and key, and I have the only key." "And even if someone had access to my magic tools," Himiko continued, "It takes real skill to perform these illusions. Real magicians like myself practice for hours in order to make sure there are no mistakes on stage. So even if someone did steal one of these devices, they wouldn't be able to use them without endangering themselves."

As the group headed outside, they noticed that much of the foliage had been cleared away. "That reminds me," Angie said, "Back at the shrine, I noticed a few statues had been erected in honor of the Kamen Riders, including one that hadn't even been seen called Sonic. The other two were Tarot and Aqua. I wonder if anymore had been erected since then." Next to the building was an entrance covered by ivy. Nearby was a stone statue with musical notes etched into it.

"I believe we are meant to use the Ocarina here," Keebo noted, "Allow me." He played the Ocarina using the notes as a guide, which somehow caused the ivy to dry up instantly. "Must've been some sort of machinery that's sound locked," Miu realized, "That's some pretty impressive tech." "And it looks like I was right," Ryoma said, "This area appears to be the pool building." Sure enough, the window to Ryoma's lab could be seen from the pool area. "This looks like a resort-style pool," Kaede noted. "It's so amazing!," Tenko said in delight, "I've always wanted a fancy pool like this where I could feel like a celebrity!"

"Do any of us know how to swim?," Kirumi asked. The entire group put up their hands. "I'm more used to smaller pools," Ryoma admitted, "But swimming is great for building leg strength, which is essential for a tennis player." "My chassis is watertight," Keebo said, "And I have special equipment built in to make me more buoyant, so swimming has never been an issue even though I am a robot." "Any chance you could introduce me to your dad?," Miu asked, "I'd like to swap notes."

Angie took a look at the pool rules. "No special rules about when we can swim, so long as at least two other people are there. That means we can even swim at night! Nighttime swims are some of the best." "I hear that," Kaito agreed, "Any activity where you can view the stars is awesome." "Anyway," Shuichi said, "Other than the resort-sized pool and diving board, everything here looks standard."

The last item, the Hexagonal Crank, opened a door that led to a rather interesting area behind a large wall. The area was covered by a dome that made it seem like perpetual night. There were also two distinct buildings. The first made Miu snicker. "They built a love hotel here. I mean, sure I'm interested, but we're still just teenagers barely over the age of consent in Japan." She read the rules on the front door. "Only two people at a time. Special forms must be filled out. Birth control mandatory, well no doy there... Same sex couples permitted... Now that's interesting. Other than that it seems the door is locked and requires a key."

The other building got the students in awe. It was a vast casino, with several games available. "It's rare to find a casino is Japan," Kokichi noted, "At least, outside of Osaka." "Judging from the layout," Shuichi noted, "This is more similar to an arcade than a true casino. No real money at stake, just points to exchange for prizes." The casino had two levels, the second being underground. Once the area had been searched, Angie went to check on the shrine. It now had five more statues. "W, Ixa, Mirror, Den-O, and Joker," Angie noted, "From what Atua tells me, they are like disciples for the one destined to ascend." "I wonder if it's coincidence that the number of statues is the same as the number of labs that opened up," Shuichi said.

* * *

After that, Kaito had convinced Shuichi, Kaede, and Maki to join him for some late-night training. Kaede and Shuichi were struggling to get the set done, but Kaito and Maki looked more like machines than even Keebo. "How do you two do it...?," Kaede asked, nearly out of breath. "Well strength training is part of being an astronaut," Kaito explained. "And I shouldn't have to explain how physical fitness fits into my talent," Maki snarked.

* * *

The next day, the girls were getting ready to perform a magic show hosted by Himiko, while the guys got started on a quick round of slots to pass the time. Kaito was holding his own, but it was clear Ryoma was the clear winner of their contest. "Jeez," Kaito said, "My luck is getting fifty-fifty here. Ryoma, how do you it?" "I just keep a calm and level head," Ryoma explained, "And I don't let outside influences affect me. It's no different than in tennis. In order to play well, it helps to tune out the crowd."

"That makes sense," Korekiyo noted, "It's like the Japanese concept of kotodama, the idea that certain words or phrases can hold sway over one's fortune." "Oh, like an event flag in a visual novel," Kokichi replied. "Precisely," Korekiyo agreed, "Certain options or phrases can either be a death flag, a survival flag, a romance flag, and so forth. Such game mechanics can find their roots in the concept of kotodama. Truth and lies can often be as powerful as a bullet fired from a gun." Kokichi grinned. "That would make an interesting mechanic for a mystery-solving game."

* * *

Meanwhile, the girls were getting ready for their own part, being fitted for show costumes. "I don't know if I feel right exposing myself to men," Tenko admitted. "It'll be fine," Himiko assured her, "Remember, the idea is to distract the audience. Using female showgirls is a simple way to do that, even for other girls." "In that case," Miu chimed in, "I'm all the fanservice we need!" "Hey, the rest of us are no slouches," Kaede argued, "I'm only a few inches smaller than you, after all."

"Atua does suggest that we have more than just one girl for this," Angie said. She then got a look at Tsumugi as she was changing. "Ooh Tsumugi, yours are so big! Do you mind if I touch them?" Tsumugi got flustered. "But that'd be too embarrassing..." Himiko sighed. "It seems I'm the only girl here with a flat chest..." "Don't worry about that Himiko," Tenko assured her, "You're perfectly darling just the way you are!" "You _are_ hitting on me," Himiko realized, "Though... I guess I'm okay with that." Now Tenko was getting flustered.

Meanwhile, Miu spotted Kirumi while she was changing. "Oh, you go for black lingerie too, huh?" "There's nothing too complex behind it," Kirumi replied, "It simply goes best with my choice of dress." "Fair enough," Miu admitted, "Though for my money, a pair of black panties shows a girl's not afraid to show her sensuality." She chuckled. "I bet a couple of the guys would get flustered at seeing me in just my underwear. Admittedly I'd only strip down if I had no other choice or it was someone I'm interested in, but still..." Kirumi couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

OOO and Tarot were joined by Kivala, Gold, and Ixa this time, having heard about the new Despair that was created. "So this time it's Biker Gang Leader's Despair," Kivala noted, "I'll rend him to pieces!" As it happened, the Warriors of Hope were there as well. "Our new friend will help batter down these walls!," Hero declared, "Now go and fight those demons!" The Despair roared before zooming at the Riders with incredible speed. Tarot quickly moved to stop the charge. _**"Hierophant Set! Rank 6!"**_

The ploy worked, and Tarot was able to get the Despair to trip over his staff. Taking advantage, Tarot switch to a different card. _**"Emperor Set! Rank 9!" "Hanged Set! Rank 4!"**_ The two weapons combined to create a chain flail, which Tarot to strike the Despair several times as it tried to get up. The Despair finally managed to break away and started racing around Tarot and the other Riders. "Get down guys!," Tarot called out as he switched cards. _**"Hermit Set! Rank 2!" "Hanged Set! Rank 5!"**_ Using his enhanced senses, Tarot was able to use the chain to drag the Despair out of its run.

OOO quickly followed up with a quick Tora claw strike. The Warriors tried to move in, but the other three Riders intercepted them. "You naughty little children must deal with us now," Ixa declared. He and Kivala both got out a couple fuestles while Gold charged her Driver. _**"Garulu Saber!" "Gigant Axe!" "Topaz Magic!"**_ While the three Riders were keeping the Warriors busy, Tarot charged his cards as the Despair tried another high-speed attack. _**"Hermit Set! Rank 3!" "Strength Set! Rank 6!"**_ The Despair found itself clotheslined by Tarot, followed by OOO striking it with his claws.

As the creature tried to recover, Tarot charged his Strength card and added more cards. _**"Strength Set! Rank 7!" "Judgement Set! Rank 4!" "Magician Set! Rank 8!" "World Set! Rank 6!"**_ The Despair had tried to rush Tarot again, but was stuck as time froze. Tarot then heaved his lightning-charged hammer to strike the ground, the spark reaching the Despair. As time started flowing again, the Despair was hit with every volt as the speed it was going at only made things worse.

It still landed near Tarot, however, and tried to high-speed punch him. Thinking quickly, Tarot switched for a new card. _**"Tower Set! Rank 1!"**_ That was all Tarot had time for before the Despair started striking, though it was enough for him to hold his ground while he charged another card. _**"Star Set! Rank 5!"**_ The flash was enough to blind the creature, but it still tried to approach and attack, prompting another defensive move. _**"Priestess Set! Rank 6!"**_ Running into the defensive barrier stunned the Despair good, giving Tarot another opening. _**"Temperance Set! Rank 9!"**_

The twin streams of fire kept the Despair from running further. But before he could press the attack, Tarot sensed a sudden surge of energy from Sage aimed at him. Quickly, he charged another card. _**"Death Set! Rank 8!"**_ The temporary immortality allowed Tarot to survive the sniper shot. "Now you're asking for it," he muttered, charging the Temperance card. _**"Temperance Set!"**_ The pistols fully charged, Tarot pulled the switch on his Driver closed. _**"Fate Sealed!"**_

He spun the pistols in his hands as they charged up power. Once maxed out, he aimed at Sage. "Double Harmony!" The twin blasts fired at once, blasting Sage back and setting him up for another attack from Kivala. Tarot then charged the Priestess card as the Despair came in again. _**"Priestess Set! Rank 7!"**_ The sight of the Despair running headlong into the barrier was a comical sight, which Tarot took advantage of. _**"Moon Set! Rank 6!"**_ As the Despair was lifted into the air, OOO came literally leapt in and slashed the Despair multiple times.

As Tarot let the Despair down hard, he charged up for another finisher. _**"Emperor Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ The mace charged with energy as Tarot swung it in a downward motion. "Conqueror's Smash!" The attack slammed into the Despair, damaging it but not quite destroying it. As it tried to retaliate, Tarot tried another card. _**"Devil Set! Rank 8!"**_ The intense heat caused the Despair to back off a bit. That's when Hero came in to try and attack, but Tarot was ready this time. _**"Priestess Set! Rank 8!"**_

Tarot smirked as Hero's drill harmlessly ground against the protective barrier. "Stick to your own fight," he declared as he set up another card. _**"Star Set! Rank 6!"**_ Hero stumbled back as the flashbang hit him hard. He didn't seem deterred, however, and tried attack again. "You're persistent," Tarot noted, "But that won't help here." He recharged a card. _**"Priestess Set! Rank 9!" "Hanged Set! Rank 6!"**_ Hero was blocked again, and this time got himself whipped for his trouble.

"Darn it!," Hero called out, "I'm not giving up! I'm the Hero of the Warriors of Hope!" He charged his drills to maximum power. "Taste my Super Drill Charge!" Tarot shook his head. "You have the wrong idea about what a hero is." He charged some more cards. _**"Tower Set! Rank 2!" "Devil Set! Rank 9!"**_ Between the increased defense and the burning aura now surrounding Tarot, Hero was stopped completely. "Guess I gotta enough in me for another finisher," Tarot noted, fully charging the Priestess card. _**"Priestess Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_

Hero found himself trapped by four barriers on all sides as Tarot rushed in with a fearsome punch. "Shattered Barrier!" The shards from the barriers resulting from the punch delivered multiple blows that left Hero staggered and falling. Realizing he couldn't see the Despair anymore, Tarot tried the Hermit again. _**"Hermit Set! Rank 4!"**_ That let Tarot spot the Despair. "OOO, he's coming up near you!" Taking the hint, OOO swapped to combo. _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!"**_ His Latoratah combo letting him keep up with the Despair, OOO started matching it blow for blow.

Meanwhile, Fighter had also broken off and was trying to attack Tarot. Quickly Tarot charged another card. _**"Moon Set! Rank 7!"**_ Fighter found herself raised into the air, but was able to recover by throwing her axe. Quickly Tarot charged another card. _**"Tower Set! Rank 3!"**_ The extra defense let Tarot deflect the axe easily, surprising Fighter. "I keep this up and I'll maxed out quickly," he noted as he fully charged his Devil card. _**"Devil Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ Charging the heat energy through his fist, he called out, "Hellfire Punch!"

The burning fist slammed into Fighter and knocked her backward, causing sparks to fly off her armor. Sage set up for another shot and fired, but Tarot had already sensed the attack and chose accordingly. _**"World Set! Rank 7!"**_ This let Tarot knock away the bullet easily, but he then saw that the Despair was frozen in place ready to attack him. Realizing he was running on time before it began to flow again, he quickly charged another card. _**"Death Set! Rank 9!"**_ As time flowed, the Despair struck, but Tarot was able to survive the blow.

"You okay?," OOO asked as he helped Tarot up. "I'll live," Tarot replied, "Let's end this now." OOO nodded and faced the Despair, swiping his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ OOO rushed at the Despair, who despite its speed proved too slow to dodge. "Gush Cross!" OOO slashed through the creature, reducing it to Cell Medals. Mage growled. "We've lost the creature! Time to retreat!" Hero groaned. "My head... It's Dad's drunk ramblings all over again..." This left the Riders with something to ponder as the Warriors disappeared.

* * *

'Yeah,' Hajime told Makoto over the phone, 'We decided to check out the magic show. Himiko really knows her stuff.' Makoto smiled. "She was selected for a reason." He turned as Mondo stirred. "I... Heard my brother for a moment... He asked me what I was doing moping around..." "Your brother?," Kiyotaka asked. Mondo then told the whole story, about how he challenged his brother to a race, but made a bad mistake and nearly got run over for it, only to have his brother save him at the last moment at the cost of his own life.

"You may be blaming yourself," Kiyotaka said, "But your brother wanted you to live. He wanted you to lead your gang and keep it together. Never forget that." Mondo smiled. "Yeah... I think I realize that now. Looks like it took a decent into darkness for me to stop beating myself up." Makoto smiled. "By the way, you do realize you technically forfeited that sauna duel, right?" Mondo groaned as he facepalmed. "Don't worry, bro!," Kiyotaka said, "We'll call it a mulligan and start over!" "Oh no!," Makoto called out, "Get someone else to referee, I need to get some sleep!"

* * *

In the time of The Tragedy, Mondo was able to properly train Chihiro, and even intended to help everyone overcome their darkest secrets. Unfortunately, Chihiro didn't live that long, due to an accident while trying to workout for himself. Monokuma was angered that no one but Chihiro could be held liable for the death, even more so since Mondo had decided to hide away Alter Ego where Monokuma couldn't find it. Afterward, he used his Crazy Diamonds to patrol cities across the world, helping to stop fights wherever they could.

To be continued...

 **We're getting close people. But the Warriors aren't stopping, and sooner or later Dark may have to step in. Our heroes are fighting as hard as they can, and boy are they giving as good they get. The Gifted Inmates arc continues next time. Read and review.**


	41. Chapter 41: Drama

**I'm back, and this will be a crazy one. I'm thinking of just focusing on two Riders for this, since there's going to be such much changing of modes. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 41: Caged Child, Drama, and the Frenzied Battle

The group at the Gifted Inmates Academy was sitting down enjoying lunch after a relaxing morning at the pool. Miu had practically drooled when she saw Keebo remove his modular armor, revealing a surprisingly human form underneath. The others laughed at this, since she had seen it numerous times while doing maintenance on Keebo. Lunch for today was hot pot, including a variety of surprising meats, such as beef intestine and boar meat.

"There's a lot different foods here," Tsumugi noted. "Well I grow and raise a lot of different things on my farm," Daisuke said, "Not to brag, but I never had to worry about only focusing on my talent while at Hope's Peak, since even in this day and age farming is an important occupation, meaning I never had to worry about supporting myself. Anyway, the next set of puzzle items is here." He brought out the box, which held a hammer called the "Golden Hammer", and 8-bit style key called the "Magic Key", and a so-called "Ninja Scroll".

* * *

The Magic Key worked on a pixel art door on a wall just outside Maki's lab. Right behind it was a staircase leading up to the fourth floor. Surprisingly, the entire hall had an ancient Japanese theme to it, but on such a frightening level it was almost oppressive. The group turned when the heard the sound of teeth chattering, only to learn it was coming from Kaito. "Sorry," he said, "I don't do well in places like this. Supernatural stuff freaks me out." "Like, demons?," Tsumugi asked. "Demons are real," Kaito said, "Demons I can handle. They can be explained with modern science, so I ain't scared of demons."

"Then you speak more to the realm of superstition," Korekiyo theorized, "Phenomenon that has yet to explained even with how far scientific study has progressed in the face of strange beasts that attack cities on a regular basis." "Yeah, basically," Kaito admitted, "I know a lot about science as part of being an astronaut in training, so anything that can't be explained with science freaks me out. And this place is just dripping with a supernatural atmosphere."

"Gonta no like kaijin," Gonta growled, "Give Reptite tribe bad reputation." "I overheard the staff talking about a kaijin attacking here just the other day," Angie said, "But the security force destroyed it, so there's nothing to worry about. Though Atua warns that the academy is not yet safe from attacks." "Good thing Rider get to kaijin first," Gonta said, "Gonta would've beaten kaijin personally. Not just to protect honor of tribe, but to protect lives of friends. Both are what gentleman would do."

"You actually fight?," Tsumugi asked, "A sweetheart like you?" "If one-on-one battle, then fighting okay," Gonta admitted, "Gonta have many honorable fights like this. Beat many tough opponents around world. Gonta always fight like gentleman." "Even gentlemen can fight Tsumugi," Korekiyo explained, "That's how boxing evolved into the sport it is today." Tsumugi nodded. "Well, regardless, this floor has a different atmosphere than the rest of the school. I don't think we'll find any classrooms here."

"We might find a few research labs though," Himiko noted, "Let's check it out." She marched ahead, completely unafraid. "She really does have a strong heart...," Tenko mused, following her. Along one hall was a set of three identical rooms with nothing in them, save a few candles which barely lit up the room. "These rooms don't seem to serve any purpose," Keebo noted. "That remains to be seen," Korekiyo rebutted, "While I doubt we'll find anything worthwhile in them, we may yet find some use for them. With a little imagination, of course. After all, as the great Chinese philosopher Laozi once said, 'A bowl is most useful when it is empty'."

"That does make sense from a logical perspective," Keebo agreed, "If there's nothing in the bowl, then naturally it is available to hold any number of things." "Applying logic to philosophy," Kokichi said with a snicker, "Only a robot could perform such a unique function." Gonta then noticed something with the floor. "Careful stepping on floor. It feel unstable, no nails holding floorboards in place. Just resting on crosspieces." "Puts me in the mind of the architecture of sixteenth-century Japan," Korekiyo noted, "This wouldn't look out of place in a ninja's manor. So easy to pick up the floorboards and access the crawlspace beneath it."

"Kiyo really is having a ball here," Kaede noted, "I wouldn't be surprised if his Research Lab is somewhere close by." "The floorboards are thick and sturdy, placed tightly together," Korekiyo noted, "And the only light source is the candles, no windows to speak of. I'm reminded of the Kurain Village near Los Angeles, which I visited once to observe their channeling technique." Just as Kaede predicted, the Ultimate Anthropologist's Lab was nearby, on the opposite hallway behind a sliding door.

It had five floors, with staircases leading to each floor, the walls lined with a number of artifacts both original and replicated. Korekiyo looked almost orgasmic at the sight. "So much history and culture in one room!" "And so many floors," Maki noted, "It must extend past the school's roof, considering we're already on the fourth floor and this place only has so many floors." "It's like you're the curator of your own, personal museum," Rantaro noted.

"Who brought all this here?," Shuichi asked. "Most of it seems to have come from the country of Novoselic," Rantaro replied, looking at some of the exhibit plaques, "There's a country I've never been to." "I've visited it a few times," Korekiyo said, "I found the idea that a country could be militaristic without being a dictatorship to be quite fascinating. It's militarization largely stems from it being a small country, one that would be taken advantage of, if not taken over, if it did not prepare in advance." He gazed at the numerous exhibits. "To think they had the resources to gather all this, though. Now I wish I had paid more attention to their history and art."

He gasped when he saw a wooden dog statue sitting atop some sort of pedestal covered by a large white sheet. "It can't be... Never in my life did I think I would lay eyes on this! And yet here it is, for all the world to see!" He lifted up the sheet, revealing an iron cage beneath. "And it even has a cage to accompany it! How perfect!" "What's so perfect?," Shuichi asked. "I'm sure you've heard me talk about participating in a number of seances," Korekiyo explained, "Yet there is one ritual I never got the chance to experience. I wonder..."

He began looking around the other exhibits, whilst Kokichi checked out a gold-painted katana. "Hey, check this out. This is a real katana, isn't it?" "Don't touch that," Korekiyo scolded him. "What? Scared I'll cut myself?," Kokichi asked innocently. "No, the katana is covered in gold leaf," Korekiyo corrected him, "It comes off easily on one's hands and is a pain to clean off." Kokichi wisely left the katana where it was. "Still an impressive display."

"Indeed," Korekiyo admitted, "Katanas have been in use in Japan since the fifteenth century, but gained true fame during the Sengoku Era, when the samurai were at their height of power. Katanas that had slain generals in war were worshipped as gods. It's rather fascinating. Here in Japan, gods are said to be found in every object. Our pantheon is perhaps larger than any other civilization that has ever existed." "Can you tell if this is one of those general-slaying katanas?," Keebo asked.

"It is indeed," Korekiyo replied, eyeing it, "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, this particular one was used in service to the Tokugawa family itself, though I don't recognize the family name off the top of my head. I'll research it later when we're done exploring." "I'm starting to get why he keeps his hands wrapped," Kokichi noted, "But why the mask?" "Just something to prevent my breath from corroding the more fragile artifacts I deal with," Korekiyo explained, "Hence the zipper, so I don't need to remove it."

"I remember you showed me that picture of you and your sister," Kaito noted, "You kinda look similar. Heck a little lipstick and you might be indistinguishable." Korekiyo actually chuckled. "As amusing as that may be, it would be a disservice to my sister's memory." The group then remembered that Korekiyo had mentioned in casual conversation that his sister had died months ago. Suddenly, Korekiyo's eyes fell on a hand-bound book sitting alone in a display case.

"Yes! This is it!," he said excitedly, carefully picking up the book. Carefully, he flipped through the pages. "Exactly as I remember it, word for word. And it's no mere copy, it's the original!" "Just what is that book?," Shuichi asked. "This book contains the history of the fabled Caged Dog Village," Korekiyo explained, "The village itself is said to have been destroyed long ago, likely due to its reputation of using dark arts and spells." Himiko suddenly grew interested.

"I understand your enthusiasm, Himiko, but it's merely a rumor," Korekiyo told her, "Regardless, this document is proof that the Caged Dog Village had at one point existed. It was written by a lone girl, a survivor of her village's destruction. She risked her life to ensure her village's memory would live on." "So it's one of a kind?," Rantaro asked, "That must make it really valuable. But you mentioned just a moment ago that you had seen a copy." Korekiyo nodded. "A few copies of the book have been made, but only a handful due to fear of the feudal lord who ordered the village's destruction. I chanced upon a copy during my travels, and have it committed to memory. That's how I know this is the genuine article."

He carefully leafed through the book until he stopped at a page containing a picture of magic circle. "And this part here has to do with the seance ritual I was speaking of earlier, The Caged Child. It outlines the particular steps that must be taken, and part of that involves the wooden dog statue and the iron cage." "So we're going to use this seance to contact the dead?," Kokichi said excitedly, causing Kaito to freak out. "Don't be rash," Korekiyo said, "It is not wise to wake the dead without reason."

"What, are they gonna curse us something?," Kokichi asked. "No," Korekiyo replied, "It would simply be the equivalent of a child waking up their parents just to ask for a drink of water. The dead are quite comfortable sleeping in the hereafter, so one cannot rouse them from that slumber just to say hi. That said, I do have a particular reason." "What reason is that?," Angie asked. "I was able to visit my sister in her final moments," Korekiyo explained, "She said her one regret was that she never had many friends in life. So I promised to find some way to help her make some new friends, that she may comfort in death. And I found that way in the world of spirit channeling."

Kokichi chuckled. "For a second there, I was sure you gonna admit to being some sort of serial killer or something." "Amusing," Korekiyo said flatly, "But even if I were to consider it, there's no guarantee that method would help me keep my promise. The hereafter is vast, with trillions of souls from across time wandering. The odds of Madoka seeing them are far too remote. Spirit channeling is both more reliable and perfectly legal." He then set his eyes on a peculiar varnished box with the Tokugawa crest on it.

"What could this be?," he wondered as he opened it. Inside were three round coins that looked orange in color, each stamped with the image of an animal. "A cobra, a turtle, and a crocodile," he noted, "And there's a journal next to the box belonging to Yoshimune Tokugawa, the eighth ruler of the Tokugawa shogunate." "Those look familiar somehow," Rantaro noted, "I know I've seen something similar before." "As have I," Korekiyo agreed, "Something else I'll need to research at a later time."

There was also Angie's Research Lab just down the winding hallway. The entire thing looked like one giant art studio. "Strange," Kaede noted, "This lab actually has a lock." "That's because I can't truly focus on my art unless I can shut out all outside interferences," Angie explained, "It is easier for me to focus on Atua's divine inspiration if I have perfect solitude. This lab was likely made with that in mind." "What about the key to the room?," Shuichi asked. "It came in the box with the other stuff," Angie admitted, "I still have it with me. But it's still surprising, knowing I like my privacy when I work, and preparing all my favorite artistic mediums."

"Well, this place was remodeled with us in mind," Kokichi noted, "The basic layout was there to being with, they just had to customize it to suit our needs. They must have done their research on us ahead of time." "I notice most of the sculpting supplies are wood or wax," Kirumi asked, "Why is there no stone?" "Stone is a precious building commodity on my island home," Angie explained, "Wood is far more plentiful, and wax is easy to create, so I prefer using those to make sculptures. Once Atua shows me the form the wax or log is supposed to take, I just work from there."

"Reminds me of a famous saying from Michelangelo," Korekiyo noted, "He often said that within each stone he worked with was a statue trapped within, and that he was merely freeing that statue. Perhaps he too, saw divine inspiration from God." As the group moved outside, it was clear more and more of the plant life was being cleared away from the main courtyard and the school interior. There were also the makings of a new building just to the left of the school entrance.

Close to what was quickly being called the "Kamen Rider Shrine", the Ninja Scroll fit into the mask of a small ninja statue, triggering a new building to come up from the ground on the edge of the surrounding forest. The building distinctly looked like a dojo, which got Tenko excited as she rushed over to the door. Sure enough, the interior made it obvious that the dojo was meant to be Tenko's Research Lab. "That giant training doll in the back reminds me of Mokujin," Tsumugi noted.

The dojo had numerous gears and mechanisms that let the training dummies move in an autonomous manner. "This is perfect!," Tenko noted, "It's easier to practice my Neo-Aikido if the training dummy has the option to counter. Training against a moving subject is perfect for staying on your toes. And there's scaffolding that I can use to practice my agility as well!" "The mats are made of fresh tatami," Himiko noted, "They smell nice."

"You seem pretty happy with your lab," Ryoma noted. Tenko giggled. "Aikido at its core is all about having a pure heart, and that doesn't change even with Neo-Aikido. That is why my master and I only ever use it to protect others." The Kamen Rider Shrine also had three new statues for Skull, Gold, and Kivala. "I feel we may be missing something," Keebo noted, "We still have not found a use for the Golden Hammer."

"Gonta saw picture of hallway near the three empty rooms on fourth floor," Gonta said, "Painting seemed to shimmer in dim light." Returning to that area, Shuichi investigated the painting. "This isn't just a painting," he noted, "It's painted glass." He took the hammer and stuck the glass, causing it to harmlessly fragment and reveal the actual hallway that was depicted on the glass pane. "It must've been safety glass," Kaito noted, "And look, the hallway continues on."

The area beyond looked more like a factory. "Talk about flipping the script," Miu said, "Going from contemporary to industrial. Who was it that built this place again?" "I think it was our 'illustrious' headmaster's father, Tokuichi Towa," Kokichi snarked. A door at the other end of the room led to a large computer facility, with a massive computer tower that a large X on the side. "Quick," Kokichi said, "Someone make an X-Box joke!" "There are too many to pick," Tsumugi noted.

Miu checked out the computer. "Whoa, there's already a program here. Mostly developed by Taichi Fujisaki, but the program notes state he was helped by his son, Chihiro. According to this coding, it's possible to construct an entire world in this computer. Granted, it's a limited space world, but still fully functional." "Why would this be here?," Maki asked. Miu shrugged. "Maybe they wanted us to beta test it? Keebo, you any good with computers?" Keebo nodded. "My AI is fully capable of interfacing with any software." "Okay," Miu replied, "Me and Keebo will check this out for a bit and see what's what."

* * *

Tarot and OOO were patrolling outside the edge of the End Wall closest to the sea. "Seems kinda quiet today," OOO noted. "I don't like it," Tarot replied, "I've been getting visions of a giant creature attacking. And with only two of us here-" OOO interrupted him by pointing at a rapidly approaching figure. "Think that might be what you were seeing?" It looked like Armored Rider Fighter, only significantly larger and more robot-like. Tarot nodded. "Yeah, I'd say that would qualify. This may not be as dire as I thought."

Fighter came in readying her axe for an attack, which Tarot intercepted. _**"Tower Set! Rank 4!" "Hanged Set! Rank 7!" "Fortune Set! Rank 8!"**_ Tarot blocked the axe with his increased defense before wrapping it up in his chain. Fighter retaliated by trying to reel him in, but this was what Tarot was counting on. Using his Fortune card, he struck Fighter right in the head, sending her reeling. Tarot took the chance to follow up hard. _**"Death Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_

Closing his fingers into a fist, Tarot charged up energy that manifested into a giant skeletal hand. "Grave Robbing!" He thrust his hand forward, causing the bony fist to smash into Fighter. The attack blew her back, but didn't seem to truly defeat her. "She's durable," OOO noted. Fighter got up and started rushing down the two Riders. Quickly Tarot slotted another card. _**"Star Set! Rank 7!"**_ Fighter stumbled as the flashbang hit the ground.

As she did, OOO and Tarot swapped modes to attack again. _**"Fortune Set! Rank 9!" "Shachi! Tora! Cheetah!"**_ OOO rushed past Fighter, striking her as he did, before knocking her back with a sonic blast, Tarot following up with a strong scissor kick to knock her down. Down but not out, Fighter picked herself up and swung her axe at Tarot, which turned out to be a bad move. _**"Tower Set! Rank 5!"**_ Tarot blocked the attack, then reset his Fortune card. _**"Fortune Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_

Tarot started spinning around vertically, rushing forward as he came down with an energy-charged knife hand. "Fate's Wheel!" The attack slammed into Fighter, sending her spinning before landing on her butt. Before she could recover, Tarot swapped out his cards. _**"Moon Set! Rank 8!"**_ Finding herself floating in mid-air, Fighter quickly tossed her axe to try and stop Tarot, but he saw the attack coming. _**"Tower Set! Rank 6!"**_ The axe bounced off Tarot, leaving Fighter defenseless and still suspended as OOO came in, changing his Medals. _**"Lion! Unagi! Batta!"**_

OOO leaped into the air and grabbed Fighter with his whips, drawing her in close to blind her with the Lion power. Fighter got dropped but soon found her axe. She grabbed it, but not before Tarot spotted her. _**"Magician Set! Rank 9!" "Fool Set! Rank 9!"**_ Fighter found herself having to block several elementally charged attacks. Seeing her defense up, Tarot decided to switch strategies. _**"Judgement Set! Rank 5!" "Strength Set! Rank 8!"**_ Using his hammer and his increased strength, Tarot was able to break through Fighter's defense.

Seeing her reeling, OOO and Tarot took the chance to press the attack. _**"Hierophant Set! Rank 7!" "Sai! Gorilla! Cheetah!"**_ Fighter found herself getting pounded from two sides by the two Riders, and quickly leapt into the air to stop the assault. She quickly threw her axe like a boomerang at them, but Tarot stepped in front of OOO. _**"Tower Set! Rank 7!"**_ After the axe bounced off harmlessly, Tarot moved in while swapped out cards. _**"Hermit Set! Rank 5!" "Hierophant Set! Rank 8!"**_

OOO rushed in as well, swapping Medals as he did. _**"Taka! Unagi! Zou!"**_ Tarot kept Fighter busy using precision strikes with his combo, while OOO wrapped her up before slamming into her with a quick double kick. As she was sent sailing, Tarot grabbed her using his powers. _**"Moon Set! Rank 9!" "Justice Set! Rank 4!"**_ As Tarot started striking Fighter, OOO came in using one of his Combos. _**"Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!" "Scanning Charge!"**_

OOO leapt into in the air, grabbing Fighter with his whips as his Tako legs segmented into a drill. "Octo Banish!" Fighter was driven into the ground hard. She soon got up, and tried chopping down the two Riders. _**"World Set! Rank 8!" "Justice Set! Rank 5!"**_ After slashing Fighter a few times, he got himself and OOO out of the way as time returned to normal, causing Fighter pain as she nearly dropped the axe mid-chop. Tarot quickly took advantage. _**"Judgement Set! Rank 6!"**_

Fighter recovered and dodged the hammer strike, barely, then tried to counter, only Tarot to swap weapons again. _**"Justice Set! Rank 6!"**_ Tarot used his sword to defend against Fighter's attack. However, she retaliated with a massive axe spin that sent both Riders sprawling. Tarot held out a new card, then noticed how far away OOO was from him. "I think I'd better link this one," he noted, charging his cards. _**"Hierophant Set! Rank 9!" "Empress Set! Rank 1"**_

Tarot struck his staff into the ground, causing it to generate a healing aura from the Empress card. OOO got up and shook his head. "I've had about of this," he said, changing to a new combo. _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"**_ He dug his hand into the ground and pulled out the Medagabryu, then places a few Cell Medals into it. _**"Gulp!"**_ He then aimed at Fighter, pulling the trigger. _**"Pu-To-Tyranno Hissatsu!"**_ "Strain Doom!"

The resulting explosion seemed to reduce Fighter back down to her normal form. "T-Too rough... Maybe rough's... Not so good after all... Maybe... I've been getting off easy..." "Not sure what you're going on about," Tarot noted, "But this isn't over!" _**"Hierophant Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ He charged energy into his staff before thrusting it forward. "Vatican Strike!" The attack canceled Fighter's transformation, returning it to its cube form before spitting out a young girl with pink hair tied up in pigtails.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the Riders looking bewildered. Instantly standing up, she called out, "Ahoy! A girl! I am Kotoko Utsugi, the Li'l Ultimate Drama, and the Fighter for the Warriors of Hope!" "Kotoko!," came the voice of Hero as he came in, flying over to grab Kotoko before flying off again. As they left, OOO crossed his arms. "What was Kotoko getting so upset over? Just sort of background do these kids have?"

To be continued...

 **I told you the battle would be frenzied. The giant form Fighter took resembles her giant robot from Absolute Despair Girls. As for Tarot's Vatican Strike finisher, it's a reference to how the Hierophant card is also referred to as the Pope. And while we're on the subject, something I realized as I was writing this. The reason the Tower card has increased defense as its power is due to towers in general being made from sturdy material, but that power can also be in reference to one of the concepts the Tower card represents, the interruption of a journey. Funny how I didn't realize that at first. Read and review.**


	42. Chapter 42: Programming

**I just realized that by the time the Gifted Inmates Arc is complete, the Riders will know all the Warriors of Hope. I don't quite remember if they learned about Monaca, but they will by the time the arc is done. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 42: Neo World, Programming, and the Mystery of Sonic

Miu yawned as she took her breakfast. "Have you been getting much sleep?," Kirumi asked. "Some," Miu replied, "But Keebo's been keeping me up late." She chuckled. "That's what she said..." Kirumi smirked. "I assume you are actually referring to the computer you two have been working on." "Well, yeah," Miu admitted, "The processing power on that beauty is amazing. Though it seems to have been built specifically to utilize one program, called the Neo World. Once me and Keebo finish modifying it, we'll show it off."

* * *

The items for the puzzles this time were an "Octobrush" and a "Levistone". The Octobrush was used on a hanging scroll not far from Korekiyo's lab, which somehow revealed an ink painting of Fuujin and Raijin before rolling up and dropping another staircase leading to the fifth floor. Once again, it was a change in atmosphere. Whereas the fourth floor had a Japanese vibe to it, this floor was more Victorian gothic, and greatly resembled a church of some kind.

Tsumugi had noticed a door not too far away and dragged Rantaro into it. Kaede and Shuichi noticed this and entered, only to laugh at what they saw. The room was clearly meant to be Tsumugi's Research Lab, due to the stage that kept swapping backdrops, and all the equipment needed for Tsumugi to make her costumes. But what was making them laugh was the sight of Suzaku Kururugi and Euphemia li Britannia, or at least Rantaro and Tsumugi cosplaying as them.

Seeing their reactions, Tsumugi removed her costume and changed back to her normal so quickly, Kaede felt she couldn't have kept track of it even if she didn't blink. "Impressive right?," Tsumugi said, "I can mimic any character so thoroughly I'm practically shapeshifting." Rantaro chuckled as he changed at a rather normal pace. "Tsumugi really got excited when she realized this floor held her lab. Though the bar over there seems out of place."

"Not really," Tsumugi admitted, "I used to work as a bartender. Mostly to earn money for my cosplaying. I didn't always have sponsors to help me, y'know. I still have those old skills. Care for one of my signature cocktails? Don't worry, they don't contain alcohol." As the trio sat down at the bar, Tsumugi removed her jacket, making her curves more obvious. "So...," Rantaro said, a little flustered, "You relied mostly on tips, yeah?" "Yep," Tsumugi admitted, "I'd always say to my customers, 'I'm in a bit of financial trouble. If only someone could help me out...'"

The innocent yet sultry way she said that, coupled with her fluttering eyes and the way she held out the drink, all three of them wound up blushing. "Ba-dump...," Kaede muttered. Now blushing herself, Tsumugi replied, "Huh? Ba-dump!? Don't go saying things like that, Kaede, I might take it seriously!" That got the group laughing. "But yeah," Tsumugi said, "My face may be plain, hence the glasses to draw attention, but my curves tend to get a lot of attention. It was easy to draw in more customers, and that meant bigger paychecks."

There was one other Ultimate Research Lab on that floor, belonging to Shuichi. There were shelves stocked with forensic equipment, which Shuichi was well-versed in thanks to his training, as well as portfolio's lining a nearby shelf that were chock full of case files from across the globe. "Some of the more recent ones include the mental shutdown case," Shuichi noted, "Perpetrated by Goro Akechi? I never would've guessed. So he was using the mental shutdowns to bill himself as the new Detective Prince, was he?"

There was also insight into the cases unmasked by the Phantoms. "The Phantoms?," Maki noted, "Isn't that the group of phantom thieves that somehow make criminals confess to their crimes?" "Yes," Shuichi replied, "Including Madarame. But this suggests that some of the Phantoms' more notable capers, with the exception of their first target, Kamoshida, had some sort of connection. Interesting... This was written by Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective from Hope's Peak Academy. She also suggests that the primary factor connecting these people, Masayoshi Shido, is indeed the Phantoms' next target."

Maki bit her thumb. "Could Akechi's actions be the reason I was let go?," she wondered, "I mean, it almost makes sense. Even if my assassination skills are top-notch, Akechi can do so without leaving any evidence whatsoever." "What's with all the poisons on this shelf?," Kaito asked. "Samples to compare against side effects that may be observed on a murder victim," Shuichi explained, "See how each one is clearly labelled? I can also use the equipment in here to run chemical samples."

Korekiyo looked about the place. "Other than the modern forensic equipment, this entire room brings to mind a Victorian setting." "Yeah, that might be to invoke the image of Sherlock Holmes," Shuichi noted. The group moved outside, where it was clear renovations were really moving forward. The grass had been trimmed down considerably, and the foundations for the new building were also progressing. All around were signs that progress was being made.

In addition a pedestal of some kind was revealed near Miu's Lab. The indentation looked like it was meant to fit the Levistone. The stone somehow actually levitated before shooting into the sky, bringing down a massive building that seemed to merge with the one containing Miu's lab. Miu gasped. "This building... C-Could it be Keebo's lab? And it's merged with mine! Is this a sign that me and Keebo really are meant to be!?" The others looked at Keebo. "Ah," he responded, "Me and Miu have begun developing a relationship, ever since she first started helping me with my maintenance. Anyway, her initial reaction appears to be correct. This new addition must contain my own lab."

The interior was a technological marvel. There was equipment to help with Keebo's upkeep, a recharge station, and several rows of machine components that seemed designed to be interchangeable. Keebo looked about the place. "The sci-fi theme is a bit overwhelming. I would have preferred a more Japanese feel to it. Still, I can definitely make use of this equipment, and it appears all the components of my modular armor have been brought in." He walked over to a large drill and held his hand near it. Drawn by visible electromagnetic energy, the drill attached itself to Keebo's arm.

"Father designed most of this equipment," he explained, "It can have some combat functions, but it's mostly used for industrial purposes." "Some combat functions?," Shuichi asked, "Have you ever used them for combat?" "On occasion," Keebo admitted, "Mostly to shutdown lesser robots that have begun rampaging for one reason or another. It's too dangerous for a human to try and reprogram them, so me or one of the Roidmudes get called in. If I had to find to find a human parallel, I'd say it's the equivalent of having to put down a rabid animal." "A bit morbid," Kokichi noted, "But accurate, I'd say." The Kamen Rider Shrine had three new statues, for Battalion, Kuuga, and Decade.

* * *

Dark and Fenrir had managed to sneak onto the academy grounds. With them was the Programmer's Despair created from Chihiro. _"You sure we shouldn't leave this up to the kids?,"_ Fenrir asked. _"Normally I would,"_ Dark admitted, _"But their recent failures have them questioning their ideals. It's important for them to think they are the heroes of this story, so I'm having Monaca get their confidence up. My only two rules were they couldn't have any injuries, and no suicides."_

Fenrir nodded. _"But why use Chihiro for this? Is it because he made the Neo World Program?" "First, he didn't really make it,"_ Dark explained, _"That was his father. Second, no, that's just icing on the cake. It's because his skills are necessary to reprogram that computer to suit our needs. We alter the minds of those inmates to make them real terrors, and reveal it to everyone. We'll finally have the basis for our ultimate plan."_ Before they could get much further, however, they were stopped by gunfire provided by Skull and Den-O. With them was OOO and Tarot.

 _"You saw us coming?,"_ Dark asked, bewildered. "You may not realize it," OOO explained, "But there are cameras all around this place. Special nanoscopic cameras." Tarot chuckled. "You may not see them, but they can see you." Fenrir grunted as she fired her sidearm, Tarot slotting a card to defend. _**"Tower Set! Rank 8!" "Strength Set! Rank 9!"**_ Tarot had also seen Dark move in and used the Strength card to intercept her once Fenrir stopped firing.

Dark activated her Kani claws and made to strike, causing Tarot to switch up again. _**"Star Set! Rank 8!" "Tower Set! Rank 9!"**_ The blinding flash, coupled with Tarot's increased defense, meant Dark wound up doing little damage. As she staggered about, Tarot readied a fully charged card. _**"Moon Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ An image of the full moon appeared behind him. As he waved his hand from left to right, the moon shifted to a crescent phase. Gravity-based energy built up in Tarot's hand as he called out, "Crescent Slash!" The image of the crescent moon turned into an energy blade that struck Dark, sending her flying.

 _"Sis!,"_ Fenrir called out, charging at Tarot full speed. "Your turn then," he said as he finished charging the Tower card. _**"Tower Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ Tarot leapt into the air, electricity charging through his foot. He came down with a mighty flying kick. "Judgement Drop!" The electrical energy struck Fenrir, sending her sprawling. Tarot then saw the other Riders having trouble with the high speeds the Despair seemed to be able to go at. Quickly he charged a couple more cards. _**"Hermit Set! Rank 6!" "Hanged Set! Rank 8!"**_

Using the two cards, Tarot was able to catch and contain the Programmer's Despair. "OOO, your Latoratah combo!," he called out. "Got it!," OOO replied, getting out the necessary Medals. _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!"**_ The Despair started getting up again, prompting Tarot to charge his Hermit card some more. _**"Hermit Set! Rank 7!"**_ Before he could move, Tarot enhanced senses let him notice how badly hurt Skull and Den-O were. Quickly he inserted another card. _**"Empress Set! Rank 2!"**_ As they got up from the healing wave, Skull muttered, "That bastard's gonna get a taste of his own medicine." He got out one of his other Gaia Memories and licked it in. _**"Skull-Dynamo!"**_

He fired off an electrical surge that managed to scramble the Despair and send it sprawling. As it tried to get up, Tarot took the chance to confuse it further. _**"Star Set! Rank 9!"**_ Tarot launched the flashbang at the Despair, disorienting it. However, his guard was down, and Fenrir managed to get in a few good shots. Getting up, Tarot grumbled as he charged the Empress card. _**"Empress Set! Rank 3!"**_ "I need to pay more attention," he noted as he was restored by his own healing powers. Taking his own hint, he charged another card. _**"Hermit Set! Rank 8!"**_

With his enhanced senses, he saw the Despair getting back up and launching a damaging electrical wave. "Pretty blunt for a programmer," he quipped as he charged the Empress card. _**"Empress Set! Rank 4!"**_ The Despair got racing off again as Skull tried shooting after it. Tarot put a hand on his shoulder. "Hold on, let me get a bead on it first." _**"Hermit Set! Rank 9!"**_ Skull followed Tarot's pointing finger until it stopped, then fired, hitting the Despair and causing it to stumble.

Dark quickly leapt in to attack, but Tarot was ready for her. _**"World Set! Rank 9!"**_ As time froze, Tarot leapt at Dark, nailing her with a windmill kick that sent her spiraling when time started again. As she started getting up, Tarot set the Star card for a finisher. _**"Star Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ Several bright light appeared and gathered in Tarot's hand, which he aimed at Dark. "Meteor Shower!" The various lights shot off at blinding speed, striking Dark individually, overwhelming her.

He then saw OOO racing past the Despair, striking it several times. When it tried to escape, Tarot intercepted it. _**"Hanged Set! Rank 9!"**_ As the Despair was chained up, Tarot rushed at it to attack. _**"Strength Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ Energy charged up in Tarot's fist as he came in with a massive Rider Punch. "Strong Impact!" The attack wound up intercepted when Fenrir stepped in to take the blow, though the force was still enough to send both her and the Despair flying back.

The Despair managed to get up and fired off an electric blast, causing Tarot to react. _**"Justice Set! Rank 7!"**_ Using the sword to absorb the electricity, Tarot sent the attack right back to sender, causing the Despair and Fenrir to dodge out of the way. Seeing Fenrir ready her blade, Tarot got an idea. "Time to really double up on the charging!" _**"Judgement Set! Rank 7!" "Judgement Set! Rank 8!" "Judgement Set! Rank 9!" "Judgement Set!"**_

Fenrir stopped in amazement of the feat as Tarot pulled the switch closed. _**"Fate Sealed!"**_ Charging energy through his hammer, he brought it swinging down like it was a gavel. "Court Adjourned!" The impact from the hammer sent a shockwave that sent Fenrir flying. She managed to get off a few shots, but Tarot was ready. _**"Justice Set! Rank 8!"**_ Several of the shots went wide, including hitting near where Dark and Den-O had started fighting. Den-O wound up getting nailed, prompting Tarot to take action. _**"Empress Set! Rank 5!"**_

"Sorry about that," he said to Den-O as he applied his healing magic. "It's fine," Den-O replied, "This is almost over anyway." _"This is far from over!,"_ Dark called out as she got up. "We'll see how you feel after this," Tarot retorted, charging his Hermit card. _**"Hermit Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ Calming his breathing, Tarot focused his energy through both fists, before launching them at blinding speed against Dark, striking at her visible pressure points. "Acupressure!"

The force of the assault caused Dark to drop to her knees, Fenrir rushing over to help her. _"Are you okay, Sis?" "Auntie Em, is that you...?,"_ Dark muttered in a dazed voice. Seeing Fenrir with her guard down, Tarot finished charging another card. _**"Hanged Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ The chain split into multiple links, sweeping across the field as the began striking Fenrir over and over. "Chain-link Carnival!" The attack sent Fenrir sprawling, but Tarot was left wide open as the Despair attacked again. "This is getting ridiculous," he noted, charging the Empress card. _**"Empress Set! Rank 6!"**_

As he healed, he saw the Despair rampaging, striking out as much as it could, damaging friend and foe alike. OOO managed to dodge out of the way of the attacks long enough to use another combo. _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!" "Scanning Charge!"**_ The Despair was finally stopped as the Tricera horns stabbed it before getting frozen. "Blasting Freezer!" Striking with his tail, OOO destroyed the Despair. _"The plan's a flop, Sis,"_ Fenrir said, _"We need to go."_ Dark, still delirious, replied, _"Three little monkeys jumping on the bed... A bear hugged one and then there were two..."_ Fenrir grabbed her sister and dragged her along using her grapple line. Meanwhile, Tarot charged a final card to heal up the remaining damage. _**"Empress Set! Rank 7!"**_

* * *

Meanwhile, the Gifted Inmates were checking out the Neo World Program. Miu had been able to expand the world with Keebo's help, but there would still need to be some more work done before full immersion was possible. As it was, the avatars were all chibi version of their real selves. Himiko giggled when she saw herself. "Look at me! I'm totally adorable!" "You're always adorable," Tenko assured her. "Yeah, but now it's justified," Himiko replied, "I'm envious of how the others girls here have much bigger boobs than me, even Angie."

"I'm sure you'll grow into it before long," Tenko said, "Maybe it'll happen during the program." "Oh man," Kokichi chimed in, "If that happens, what'll happen to my dream crush?" The others looked at him. "What?," he asked, "Didn't I mention I was crushing on Himiko?" Tenko stuttered at that, while Himiko sighed. "Cross 'get caught in a love triangle' off the bucket list." "And with one choice from both genders, at that," Tsumugi noted. The got the rest of the group laughing, with Himiko, Tenko, and Kokichi joining in soon after.

"That reminds me," Angie said, "Up until now we've known about most of the Riders showing up in the shrine, but what about this 'Kamen Rider Sonic'? Are they planning on having a new warrior join the fold?" "This close to the end?," Tsumugi wondered, "If this were a TV show, the villains plans are either coming to a head, or grinding to a halt. A last minute addition would only leave audiences scratching their heads. At least, that's my perspective." "Actually," Miu said, "I was commissioned to use my hacking gun design to develope a new Driver. The commission came from the Kogami Foundation. I wonder what they plan to use it for."

* * *

Junko had planned to use the School Killing Game to put her friends through the "greatest" despair, in a twisted expression of her love for them. However, the game only ever got past one killing and trial. Mondo and Chihiro soon stuck together like glue, the Biker Gang Leader protecting his friend until finally Junko was forced to end the game. Later, Chihiro learned about his father being captured, and worked to help save him and the other captives, his programming skills making him instrumental to Future Foundations work.

To be continued...

 **Phew... I took so long with this chapter. Glad to get it out of the way. Yep, I'm setting up for events that take place in later chapters. First, the mysterious Kamen Rider Sonic, who we'll be seeing after a while. Second, the mysterious orange Medals found in Korekiyo's lab. Fans of Kamen Rider OOO will know what those are about. More to come. Read and review.**


	43. Chapter 43: Baseball

**I've been eagerly looking forward to each new chapter in the Gifted Inmates arc. For starters, it shows how characters that had been killed in canon would react to the areas they never got the chance to see. Which makes me wonder how I'm gonna do the chapter six stuff from canon. Eh, I'll think of something. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 43: The Hangar, Baseball, and Tarot Fully Charged

It was the next day and the Gifted Inmates were sitting down for breakfast. "So Gonta," Miu said, "How was your first taste of modern technology?" Gonta thought for a moment. "It was, unusual, but in pleasant way. Like lucid dream that you fully awake for. Gonta at first thought was dream, but when we get back to real world and Gonta remember everything, Gonta realize it no dream."

Himiko looked a little down. "Sorry for nearly getting your cords crossed there, Gonta." Before the group had entered the Neo World Program, Miu had detailed how the cords were supposed to go into the VR helmets they would be using. However, Gonta had briefly crossed his wires because Himiko had stated her mantra for which side was right and left, using the hand she holds chopsticks with as a reference. Unfortunately for Gonta, he was left-handed. Luckily Miu had double-checked everyone to make sure there were no accidents.

"It okay," Gonta assured her, "Gonta always have trouble telling right from left. Knew Gonta was using different dominate hand from everyone else, but Gonta not smart, so not know much more than that." The next box to be unlocked had two keys inside it, an old-fashioned key called the "Last Real Key", and a futuristic-looking key called the "Real Last Key". "Looks we get to open up the last few doors around here," Kaito noted, "Let's get going Maki Roll." Himiko looked at Maki. "'Maki Roll'?" Maki sighed. "Kaito picked that name for me when we started dating. It's stupid sounding, but coming from a lovable idiot like Kaito I've gotten used to it." Miu snorted at Kaito being called an idiot.

* * *

The Last Real Key worked on a large door with an odd checkerboard pattern, though with the black and white panels scrambled in an odd pattern. Down a futuristic hallway was a large spiral staircase surrounding a glass elevator. Some of the group walked up the stairs with no complaint while a few just took the elevator up. This took them up several floors until they reached a door leading to what was obviously Kaito's Research Lab. "Finally!," Kaito called out in excitement, "I've been waiting for this!"

The interior had a number of familiar astronaut training equipment, including a g-force simulator, underwater tank to practice walking in low-gravity environments, and a functioning space shuttle cockpit. In the back was a section meant to practice sleeping in a space station environment. "I can't believe there's even such a thing needed," Himiko noted. "Well, it's kinda necessary," Kaito explained, "Space is the most hostile environment you can encounter, even more so than a volcanic one. You don't get the luxury of comfort, not with today's technology."

"There's something else here," Maki noted, picking up a file, "Project Rabbit Hatch." "Oh yeah," Kaito said, "That's part of a OSTO complex located on the lunar surface. It's pretty high-end, even including the first ever artificial gravity generator. I've heard about it during my training, but only ever saw blueprints for it. Actually, I heard somewhere that the Rabbit Hatch is the only part of the complex that still remains." "I thought OSTO disbanded years ago," Rantaro noted.

"It did," Kaito admitted, "But the Rabbit Hatch is still fully functional and in operation. No idea who's running it, though." "Says here the project is using something called 'cosmic energy' to connect Earth to another planet where humans might have evolved," Maki said as she read through the file, "Even after OSTO disbanded?" Kaito shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, the station is still in working order, so someone might be trying to finish what the organization's founder was trying to accomplish. Though if this file is in my lab... Do they intend to include me in that program?"

Outside it looked construction was more or less done, with large parts of the academy looking more technological. There was also a large section of the End Wall sectioned off with a large door adorned with the symbols of the Kamen Riders. It was in this door that the Real Last Key fit into. The interior of the of room was rather technological in appearance, and bore the symbol of the Kogami Foundation. "Talk about sci-fi," Keebo noted, "I feel like a mecha could pop out at any moment." He paused. "Besides myself, that is." "I was gonna say," Kokichi quipped.

The series of corridors lead to a large hangar, where inside the group found something to behold. The group of Kamen Riders they had been hearing so much about was there, all in their suits but without the helmets, which were stacked in a row on an upper level. The vending machines from the warehouse had been moved here as well. "Ah," Hajime said when he saw the group. "Welcome. We were told you'd be getting access to this place today. I'm Hajime Hinata, also known as Kamen Rider OOO."

"It's him!," Angie realized, "The one Atua said is destined to ascend as a god!" Hajime chuckled. "That's been my goal for a while now. So, if you guys have any questions while you're here, feel free to ask." "I have one," Miu said, "What's with those vending machines over there?" "Oh, the Ridevendors?," Hajime replied, "The cans inside them are called Candroids, which we use to track Despairs and the Armored Riders. In addition, the machines themselves can fold up into Rider Vehicles. Also, feel free to look around if you feel like it."

Keebo walked over to a large car wash. "Oh, that looks comfortable." "Keebo shower with car wash?," Gonta asked, "Wouldn't Keebo rust?" "Of course not," Keebo assured him, "My chassis is made from waterproof and rustproof materials." "Ah," Kyosuke said as he approached, "We normally send the Ridevendors through that. Driving through the city in pursuit of a Despair can get them quite dirty."

Shuichi then spotted Kyoko among the group. "Oh, I think that's the Ultimate Detective from the main academy." "Yeah, she just back from Tokyo," Hajime noted, "News from outside still reaches here, so I assume you've heard about the controversy surrounding the recent elections." "Yes, the Phantoms got to Shido it seems," Maki replied, "As a result he dropped out of the elections, allowing Matsushita to take the position of Prime Minister."

The group said goodbye to the Kamen Riders and continued exploring, since while the Real Last Key had a one-time use, the Last Real Key remained, meaning it could be used for something else. That use turned out to be for a door just off the side of Shuichi's lab. Instead of opening, however, the door imploded and collapsed, revealing the entrance to Rantaro's lab. The interior was filled with pictures Rantaro had taken of his many adventures, trophies of some of the creatures he hunted, and training gear to keep himself in top shape.

Rantaro picked up something on the study table against one wall. "Wow! This is instructions on helping get a helicopter license. That would certainly make a lot of future trips easier. Could've used that in Siberia..." "What were you looking for in Siberia?," Korekiyo asked. "An ancient city," Rantaro explained, "Said to hold an artifact that could grant eternal life. As you can imagine, it was nowhere close to the fantasy most people have regarding such things. Ultimately the artifact was destroyed."

* * *

Elsewhere, Fumiko was speaking with Junko. "You seem to be having trouble getting your little project off the ground," Fumiko noted. "Don't you go sassing me," Junko threatened, "I know you plan on hijacking my plans for yourself. But at the rate things are going, my plans are going downhill, so I doubt you'll do any better." Fumiko smirked, then seemed to warp close to Junko. "Don't underestimate Foundation X. You may be the Ultimate Analyst, but you're still just one mind. We have hundreds. And unlike you, we aren't lazy."

Junko didn't flinch, but she did grimace as Fumiko walked off. "My time with you has been enlightening, but we have all we need from you. And with Shido having become the latest victim of the Phantoms, his little conspiracy is all but done, meaning we have our own plans to complete. So we don't have time to indulge any further in your childish ideas." She looked back and grinned at Junko. "If you see my daughter again, tell her I said I don't intend to look for her. It might put her mind at ease, if she has memories of me."

After she left, Junko angrily slammed the nearby table with her hand. "She's toying with us! And where does she get off calling me lazy!? Or childish!?" Mukuro sighed. "It sounds like Foundation X may have better ideas on how to effect a worldwide catastrophe." Junko scoffed. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean I'm done. Not yet at least." She held up two more photos, one for Leon and one for Sayaka. "These two are the only Ultimates left that can be affected. If they fail us..." She held up another Black Medal.

* * *

As the Gifted Inmates were investigating the new statues in the Kamen Rider Shrine, now depicting Core and Birth, they heard a rumbling outside as OOO, Tarot, Joker, and Skull headed out of the End Wall. It turned out, a new Despair had been spotted in the middle of Towa City, this one made from Leon. The Baseball Star's Despair had already caused some havoc around the city, prompting Tarot to take action to heal the injured. _**"Empress Set! Rank 8!"**_

As he healed the group, the Despair fired off a few pitching shots. Joker quickly got out one of her Memories to counter. _**"Zone-Joker!"**_ Using the Zone Memory's power, she got the Riders and civilians out of the way. One of the shots rebounded, however, nailing Tarot and causing him to need to heal using the Empress. _**"Empress Set! Rank 9!"**_ Seeing the Despair firing off more shots, OOO switched out his Medals to stop it. _**"Lion! Tora! Batta!"**_ Blinding the Despair, OOO moved in and slashed it several times.

Tarot got up and charged the Empress one final time. _**"Empress Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ Leaves made of energy seemed to surround Tarot's arm as he formed it into a knife hand. Bringing the attack down on the Despair, he called out, "Falling Leaf!" The attack acted much like a serrated edge, sheering off numerous Cell Medals, thought the Despair continued to persist. As it staggered, Skull and Joker came in with some attacks of their own. _**"Skull-Laser!" "Pirate-Joker!"**_

The Despair started deflecting the attacks, but it was still stuck in place as OOO and Tarot came in. _**"Shachi! Gorilla! Tako!" "Justice Set! Rank 9!"**_ Beset by OOO's Gorilla fists and Tarot's sword, the Despair tried to roll of out of the way, but Skull came in with another Memory. _**"Skull-Knight!"**_ Skull's mace clashed against the Despair's bat. Just then, several Trash Yummies showed up, the two Armored Riders right behind them. "I was wondering when they'd show up," Tarot said, "Let me clean house!"

 _ **"Justice Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ Charging up energy in his sword, Tarot quickly became a whirlwind of steel, destroying many of the Trash. "Heroic Whirlwind!" OOO walked up to him as the attack finished. "Think you got enough to deal with our enemies?" Tarot was reminded that he only had a few more cards to charge before he finally completed the Tarot System. "I think I can manage." He started out getting the Magician card. _**"Magician Set!" "Fate Sealed!"**_ Spheres of fire, ice, and lighting formed and spiraled around Tarot's hand.

He looked at Dark, but then switched targets to Fenrir, firing off the blast. "Magical Trinity!" The blast knocked Fenrir back while Tarot swapped cards. _**"Fool Set!" "World Set!"**_ With the two cards fully charged, Tarot closed the switch on the World card. _**"Fate Sealed!"**_ Dark suddenly froze in place, as if time stopped only for her. Energy built up in Tarot's hands, and suddenly they lashed out as if accelerated through time. "Chrono Barrage!" _"Not again!,"_ Dark called out as she felt the full force of the impact once time was restored for her.

Meanwhile, the other Riders had kept the Despair busy, and it was now in Tarot's sights as he closed the switch on the Fool card. _**"Fate Sealed!"**_ Tarot leapt into the air, images of all twenty-one other cards merging with his foot. He came down with a large flying kick as the entire Major Arcana circled around him. "Trump Striker!" The attack hit the Despair and scattered it into Cell Medals. The group turned to find Dark and Fenrir, but they had managed to get away. "It almost felt like she was just here to blow off steam," Joker noted. "Could we be close to ruining her plans?," OOO wondered aloud.

* * *

Meanwhile, Korekiyo was inside his lab, looking through the various journals and notes and comparing them to that of Yoshimune. "Did you find anything?," Shuichi asked as he entered. "I believe so," Korekiyo replied, "I've no proof yet, but seeing OOO in person a second time made me realize where I had seen something similar to the orange coins. They look like they may have come from the same source as the Core Medals OOO uses for his powers."

He handed Shuichi the journal. "Yoshimune writes how he had gotten the Medals, if that is what they are, as a gift from some European alchemist who wanted to offer tribute in exchange for being allowed to leave Japan. That alchemist, Gara, stated the Medals had originally been for his king, but that king had made a foolish decision and was sealed away. Yet he suspected that king would be reborn somewhere here in Japan and would try a second time, only wiser from his previous attempt. And if that was the case, he'd be needing these Medals."

"So you think OOO having all twenty-one Medals is the key to his ascension?," Shuichi asked. "Assuming Angie's oracular message is accurate, yes," Korekiyo admitted, "The only question is, how will he affect it? Finding out how the Medals were made in the first place would be more along Rantaro's expertise, having knowledge of archaeology as part of his Ultimate Adventurer talent. His is the realm of history, mine is more culture." "Speaking of that," Shuichi said, "What's your plan once the program is finished?" "Actually I was going to pick up on a project I had to cancel as a result of my incarceration," Korekiyo noted, "A cross-country trip across some of America's most well-known food locations."

"Food?," Shuichi asked. Korekiyo nodded. "Believe it or not, food also plays a part in human culture. When you really get down to it, the human body only needs its essential nutrients to survive, so there's no need to be so fancy with one's meals. But ever since humans developed the ability to grow and raise their own food, they've gotten quite creative with their cuisine. And America, being such a cultural melting pot, is a perfect place to study a variety of global cuisines. Though I would like to make one change... I thought I'd invite all our friends here."

"Really?," Shuichi asked, pleasantly surprised. "While I have had to leave some of the others out of the Caged Child seance due to their abrasive personalities not being to Madoka's tastes, I myself have found it surprisingly easy to get along with everyone here." Shuichi smirked the first time the Caged Child was performed. Tenko had volunteered, then afterward admitted to feeling kinda funny. It was then that Korekiyo admitted that during the channeling process, the spirit of the medium temporarily ceases to exist. Miu, who had wanted to try it next, tried to talk her way out of it when she heard. The very memory of it got Shuichi chuckling.

* * *

When the 78th class was trapped in the School Killing Game, Leon suffered a serious blow. Sayaka, who he was crushing on and seemed to want to meet with him privately, had just tried to kill him. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he thought he could calm her down. Unfortunately, when he tried to take the knife from her, it wound up stabbing her while both of them were holding it. In the previous timeline, Leon tried to cover up what happened. This time however, he came clean and told the rest of the group everything.

This left Junko, and by extension, Monokuma, in a bind. Leon had done nothing to try and cover up his involvement, and the others were willing to entertain the idea that Sayaka may have tried to commit suicide when struggling with the knife. Junko started the trial, hoping it would convince them to turn on Leon, but to no avail. And so the first, and ultimately only, trial in the School Killing Game ended with the blackened determined to already be dead. But fate was set to turn one more time before Hajime was through with Junko.

To be continued...

 **All of the former murderers have been redeemed (even if you count the ones from V3) but fate is still undoing itself. And Korekiyo has discovered something interesting about the Orange Medals. Yeah, the information I got from that scene alludes to the Kamen Rider OOO movie "The Shogun and the 21 Core Medals". And yes, we will be seeing the Burakawani combo in the near future. Also, we're one victim away from completely re-writing the entire Danganronpa timeline, so I hope you're hyped. Read and review.**


	44. Chapter 44: Social Studies

**This will be the last chapter in the Gifted Inmates arc (I know, short right?) but not the last time we see the V3 crew. I'll be using them more in this story, and in fact in this series. But now, we set up for the major battle hinted at during Nine Phantom Thieves. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 44: Ascension, Social Studies, and the Twenty-One Core Medals

The entire Gifted Inmates academy was in a frenzy. Numerous Trash Yummies, led by a clearly deranged Armored Rider Sage, were attacking in full force. The Kamen Riders hadn't yet gotten back from their various other locations, but luckily Keebo's lab was reinforced and untouched, leaving him plenty of options to defend his friends and their adopted home. This helped him even when Sage brought a group of larger robots to fight, though compared to the autonomous Keebo these remote controlled models were inefficient at best and piles of scrap waiting to be junked at worst.

Inside the school building, much rumbling could be heard. "Will Keebo be okay?," Gonta asked. "He'll be fine," Miu assured him, "I was able to modify his jet pack and most of his weapons to make them more efficient. I couldn't get to all of them, but the ones I hadn't gotten to yet are already efficient enough for this force. We should be more concerned with keeping our own butts alive." Just then, a massive explosion caused part of the entrance to hall to fall away, revealing a staircase.

"Oh hey, it's an underground bunker," Kokichi noted, "Convenient. Well, being on the surface seems dangerous, so we may as well test the rabbit hole." He, Kaede, and Shuichi went down and moved through the hallway, moving away some of the debris as they did. At the end of it was a large door that looked designed for an evil mastermind's lair. Kokichi sighed when he saw this. "Of course... I've been waiting all this time for my lab to be revealed, and it winds up being the last one we get. It's like the main protagonist of a video game or something."

"Well Kaito always says we're the heroes of our own story," Kaede noted. The door opened up to a large cavern with a highly advanced platform-type base inside. In addition to a cybernetic-looking throne, which Kokichi immediately sat in, there were various pranking tools, disguises, and a large high-tech car. "It's everything a Supreme Leader like me could dream of," Kokichi noted, 'Though the circumstances of its reveal could be a lot better. It's even got my groups logo and a network to contact them. Come to think about it..."

He turned on the network. Instantly the faces of several young men and women that looked to be about Kokichi's age turned up. When they recognized him, the briefly freaked before putting on various clown accessories and makeup. 'What's up chief?', a larger one asked, 'We weren't sure if you could contact us.' "There's here at the Gifted Inmates academy," Kokichi replied, "Can you use our hacking code to get in contact with Hope's Peak Academy? We need the help of the Kamen Riders to turn back the invading forces."

'On it!,' the group said at once. "Hacking code?," Kaede asked. "Just a little something to put hilarious easter eggs into people's mobile devices," Kokichi admitted, "We could do more with it, but that would be breaking our rules." "This place is pretty cool looking," Shuichi admitted, "But it also seems like supervillain lair from a kids' show." "Well I am one step above a kid," Kokichi reminded him, "I think I can afford to be a bit of a cliched, goody, evil mastermind."

The shaking got a little worse, prompting the trio to head back out. There they found Kaito, Maki, and Ryoma. "Most of the group got outside before this debris blocked the door," Ryoma explained, "Though Kiyo wanted to return to return to his research for something. Probably those Orange Medals. A invasion like this will get the attention of the security team, after all." "And if it doesn't," Kokichi said, "I managed to find my lab which has direct access to D.I.C.E. I had them contact the main academy in an effort to get the Riders' attention."

The group got the debris out of the way, just to see a group of Trash Yummies trying to come in. Ryoma narrowed his eyes as he got out a tennis racket and a large shotput ball. Before the Trash could react, Ryoma had launched a killer serve that seemed rather literal as the creatures exploded. "Pretty pathetic for kaijin," he noted, "It may have larger than what I'm used to, but it was still just an iron ball." "Think you could use that trick against the larger robots?," Kokichi asked.

"Probably," Ryoma surmised, "Assuming they're in a tight enough spot." "Good, 'cause I believe I see one just to the right of us," Kokichi replied, pointing down the hallway to reveal a large blue robot that looked like it was dressed in priest robes. Ryoma launched another serve, damaging the robot and causing it to retreat. The group then headed up several floors to try and find Korekiyo, Maki stopping to get some weapons from her own lab, which proved effective at making the robots retreat while also managing to take out the Trash Yummies.

Korekiyo was finally seen outside Rantaro's lab, striking at several Trash with the katana from his own lab. Rantaro was also there, using a few guns that didn't look like they had come from Maki's lab. Himiko was also there. "Glad you guys are safe," she said, "Kiyo said he needed to keep those Orange Medals safe from those monsters." "Rantaro, where did those guns come from?," Maki asked. "From my own lab," Rantaro explained, "I've had some firearms training"

"Do you know where anyone else is?," Kaede asked. "I think some of the others may have headed for Kaito's lab," Korekiyo suggested. "There is a fortified bunker there," Kaito noted, "That's probably where they'll be." Clearing away some of the loose debris, the group made their way to Kaito's lab. There they found Tsumugi, Kirumi, and Angie. "Thank goodness," Angie said, "Atua said you guys were alright, but I must confess I was having doubts."

"Oh yeah," Tsumugi said, "I found a document containing information about our families and friends here. Kaede, you never said you had a twin sister." The others looked at her, dumbfounded. Especially Shuichi, who suddenly felt awkward since he and Kaede had started a relationship. "Don't worry you guys," Kaede said, "Kaori may looked like me, but she has a few distinguishing features to differentiate us, like how she keeps her hair shorter."

"Not like it matters, since the fingerprint confirms this is Kaede we're looking at," Tsumugi admitted, "But it does come out of left field. And then gets hit right outta the park, Gorenger style." Maki sighed. "Let's find our remaining friends. Besides Keebo, who's still fighting outside, there's still Miu, Gonta, and Tenko missing." "I think they headed for the library," Kirumi said, "They wanted to get below ground for safety reasons."

The group headed down to the basement, where sure enough they remaining three students were in the library. "This look like everyone," Gonta noted, "'Cept Keebo, but fighting still going on so he probably okay." "The hidden door in the library just opened," Tenko said, "Part of the electricity surged, caused the card reader to malfunction. The door opened automatically as a result."

The inside of the room looked like a security center combined with a museum. An empty rack with outlines resembling the Kamen Riders' Drivers could be seen against one wall, and out from it were statues resembling other Kamen Riders. "Gonta recognize some of these figures," Gonta noted, "They bug men who visit Reptite village." "All the Kamen Riders who preceded OOO," Korekiyo realized, "Immortalized in tribute to the legacy they left behind." "There's hallways leading out elsewhere," Himiko noted.

"I think I know where they go," Kaede said, "We saw those doors in the utility closets on the first floor bathrooms. Now the symbols make sense. Ten symbols for the male Kamen Riders, and six for the female ones. This is their base while monitoring the academy." Just then, a beeping sound came from Miu, who took out what looked like a communication device of some sort. "Keebo, are you alright?" 'Still fully functional,' Keebo replied, 'I can hear motorcycles in the distance coming closer. My fight blew off one of the walls of the classrooms on the second floor. Head there and I'll get everyone to safety.'

* * *

OOO and the other Riders found their way to the academy. Most of the infrastructure was intact, but it was clear all the work they did on it would need to be done all over again. Though the Kamen Rider Shrine was still intact, somehow escaping all the devastation. As the other Riders started attacking the Trash and the giant robots, OOO zeroed in on Sage. As the sniper took aim, OOO started out swapping his head piece. _**"Lion! Tora! Batta!"**_

Sage found himself blinded as OOO moved in, changing to a combo to close the distance easier. _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!"**_ OOO leapt onto the hill where Sage was stationed and started striking at him with his claws, generating razor wind as he did so. Sage quickly leapt away and activated one of the robots, a giant brown one that also had a sniper rifle. Undeterred, OOO swapped to a different combo. _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"**_

Slamming his hand into the ground, OOO pulled out the Medagabryu and brought out a few Cell Medals, which he inserted into the weapon. _**"Gulp!"**_ Taking aim at the robot as it started to fire, OOO pulled the trigger. _**"Putotyranno Hissatsu!"**_ "Strain Doom!" The two shots collided, but the one from the Medagabryu proved stronger, blasting through the other shot and disabling the robot. Just then, Korekiyo showed up. "OOO! I found these in my lab!" He showed the Orange Medals, which OOO recognized. "Those are..."

Korekiyo nodded. "I saw they were similar to your own Medals and thought, 'What if?'" He tossed the Medals to OOO, who slotted them in and activated his O Scanner. _**"Cobra! Kame! Wani! Bura-Ka~~Wani!"**_ Now covered in the orange Burakawani combo, OOO took a defense stance that made use of the buckler shield split across both his arms. Seeing the new form, Sage took aim and tried to fire below the shield. The shot hit, but OOO seemed to barely flinch. Chuckling, he said, "Looks like my new form can heal easily."

Surprised, Sage fired off a few more shots, only for OOO to block them with the Kame shield. Even in the low-light conditions of the area, his new infrared sight let him pick out Sage easily. He leapt over and started attacking with the Wani legs, which generated giant crocodile heads with each attack, damaging Sage. OOO soon pulled out his O Scanner again to swipe it. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ OOO flew across the ground in a slide kick as three orange rings appeared between him and Sage, ending with a giant crocodile head appearing at the edge of the kick. "Warning Ride!"

The attack chomped through Sage, deactivating the transformation as the left-over cube spit out a young boy with blue hair. "I thought as much," OOO said, "We started looking up your friend Monaca's classmates. Out of all of them, she was close with only four. And you, Nagisa Shingetsu the Li'l Ultimate Social Studies, was the only one unaccounted for." With the battlefield mostly cleared out, the other Armored Riders showed up. Dark turned to Mage. _"Looks like you still don't understand... Nagisa, we still have a chance to complete our goal here."_

Nagisa picked himself up. "Got it, Big Sis." He placed the odd Driver, which looked like a remote control for a child's toy, and hit a button on it. "Henge!" The cube reappeared, changing Nagisa back into Armored Rider Sage. OOO nodded. "So you think to outnumber me. Not a bad strategy, but I still have an ace up my sleeve." He got out the Green Medals. _**"Kuwagata! Kamakiri! Batta! Ga~ta-Gata-Gata-Kiri, Ba! Gatakiriba!"**_ "What will changing your combo do for you now?," Sage asked, almost condescendingly.

 _"Actually,"_ Dark said, _"That form let's him multiply himself." "And he can take advantage of that to use all his combos at once,"_ Fenrir added in. Sage suddenly became a lot more nervous. Sure enough, OOO split into seven forms, each taking a set of medals. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!" "Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!" "Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... (Drum beat) Sa-Go-Zo!" "Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!" "Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!" "Cobra! Kame! Wani! Bura-Ka~~Wani!"**_

The seven combo stood in formation, and then energy started to crackle between them. They looked at each other in shock as light began to part through the darkness, lighting them up. Somehow, Hajime understood, and he and all his copies activated their O Scanners at once. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ The charge, rather than activate a finisher, caused the energy to hit its peak and surround the copies, finally exploding in a brilliant flash. From their vantage point, the Gifted Inmates looked on in wonder. "It's happened...," Angie realized, "This is the ascension Atua has foreseen!"

Hajime felt the full force of his past-life memories return, and it made him realize why the ascension failed last time. Not only did he try it with only fifteen of the twenty-one Core Medals, he tried to take on the power on his own, rather than splitting it apart evenly among multiple bodies. "Looks like I've finally made it!," OOO called out, "Now I, Hajime Hinata, have become the god of desire!"

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - Anything Goes Special Edit)

The seven combos went to attack the seven Armored Riders. Burakawani resumed his attack on Sage, blocking the shots fired while striking with his legs. After a bit, he activated his finisher. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Warning Ride!" Sage found himself overwhelmed by the same attack twice. Meanwhile, Sagozo was hitting hard against Fighter, striking her multiple times and breaking through her defenses. Once she was staggered, Sagozo made his move. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Sagozo Impact!" Fighter was hit hard by the attack, knocking her out of her transformation.

Shauta was using his liquid form to easily evade Priest's missile, catching a few with his Tako legs and Unagi whips. After nailing Priest with a few of his own missiles, Shauta readied his own finisher. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Octo Banish!" Priest was quickly knocked out of his transformation as the drill attack hit him hard. Mage was having trouble of her own as Latoratah easily evaded her magical attacks, slashing at her with literally blinding attacks before readying his finisher. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Gush Cross!" Mage found herself overwhelmed as the slashing claws struck through her armor.

Hero found himself overwhelmed by numbers as Gatakiriba continued to multiply, the replaceable numbers rendering his drills useless. After a number of attacks, Gatakiriba readied his finisher. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Gatakiriba Kick!" The numerous duplicates centered their flying kicks at Hero, knocking him out of his transformation. Fenrir was also having trouble facing Putotyra, the very combo that managed to deliver her first wound. Needless to say, it was causing some PTSD. After knocking her around, Putotyra readied his finisher. _**"Scanning Charge!'**_ "Blasting Freezer!" Fenrir managed to escape this one without suffering a major wound, but she still got knocked out of her transformation.

Finally, Dark was dealing with Tajador, his flying skills making him impossible to hit. The other combos tossed him their head Medals, which along his own was placed inside the Taja Spinner. He then applied his O Scanner. _**"Taka! Kuwagata! Lion! Sai! Shachi! Ptera! Cobra! GI-GI-GI-GIGA SCAN!"**_ OOO was enveloped in burning energy as he flew fist-first towards Dark, smashing into her with tremendous force, canceling her transformation.

Junko got up, barely. "If you think this ends here," she said, clearly out of breath, "Then you're deluding yourself. I still have one more card to play." She pulled out a small sphere, a "good-bye" present from Fumiko. She tossed it in front of OOO, creating a blinding light. By the time it faded, she and the other Armored Riders had vanished. After gathering his copies and canceling his transformation, Hajime walked over to Kyosuke. "Did we get any recordings of that?" Kyosuke nodded. "The question is, will the steering committee accept it?"

To be continued...

 **Junko has now been exposed for all to see. But she's not ready to quit yet. We still have some final fates to change, this story is far from done. But now Hajime has accomplished his goal, having ascended to become the god of desire. So that's one hurdle out of the way. Also, I deliberately waited until the Burakawani combo was unveiled to use Tajador's Giga Scan because it felt more appropriate to do with all seven sets of Core Medals. Hope you liked it's premier. Read and review.**


	45. Chapter 45: Pop Music

**The last few chapters before we hit the final arc are underway. I wanted this first relative half of the story to match up with the number of episodes of Kamen Rider OOO (not counting movies and such) and I fortunately managed a pretty good job. The real trick was modeling each fight around the Medals used. I'll have much more freedom come the Tragedy arc, but I still have some leeway for now. In the meantime, let's end the Killing Game once and for all, shall we!? Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 45: Experiment, Pop Music, and the Final Gambit

Sato was just an ordinary student in the Reserve Course of Hope's Peak Academy. Given that said course was getting better treatment as of late, she thought she couldn't complain, especially now that no one was bothering her about being near her friend Mahiru, who was an Ultimate. And Mahiru seemed much more cheerful lately. However, there were still problems. Natsumi Kuzuryu, a girl in her class that was the sister of one of the Ultimates. Sato thought she would be much nicer and less condescending ever since her brother actually started visiting her.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Natsumi still had delusions that she was in the wrong course, believing herself to be an Ultimate that simply hadn't been recognized. But out of all the things she could have picked, Sato struggled to understand how being a little sister counted as a talent. It was getting to be too much. That was why she had accepted the invitation from that woman, to partake in an experiment that had been put on hold ever since her classmate Hajime had been promoted to Ultimate Kamen Rider. Sato had tried to follow in his footsteps, but she proved to be just too average. As she lay inside the machine, she thought to herself, _'With this... I can properly stand beside Mahiru...'_

* * *

"They've restarted the Kamakura Project?," Kyosuke asked. Chisa had spotted someone that looked like Peko only older and followed her carefully, finding out this woman, a Foundation X member, was helping the steering committee with the Kamakura Project. "I was able to get some information thanks to Keebo's help," she explained, "He was able to infiltrate their mainframe and learned something. It seems they had originally wanted Hajime to be the subject of the experiment."

"And then he proved to have an Ultimate talent of his own," Kyosuke realized, "So they had to halt the project while they looked for a suitable replacement. But this coupled with the fact that Foundation X is no longer supporting Junko means one thing... She's no longer our only threat. And even then, her threat is quickly diminishing. How many more students could she possibly infect with those Black Medals?"

* * *

Outside the campus, Junko was bashing her head against the walls. "Damn it! Why is it nothing's going the way I expect it to!? By now we've seen just about everything these Kamen Riders can do and they still overpower us every! Single! Time!" Mukuro waited until Junko had vented herself out. She knew that, deep down, Junko was less upset than she was letting on. Yes, she hated that her plans were failing. But on the other hand, it meant she was getting plenty of the despair she loved so much.

Finally, Junko had started to get exhausted. "I can tell you're upset," Mukuro said, "But there's something important you should know. I think they may be restarting the Kamakura Project." Junko's eyes lit up instantly. "Mukuro, that's brilliant! I'd all but given up on that angle! But if they manage to bring back Izuru Kamakura, and the way I expect the program to go, then we can turn him to our side by promising him something interesting."

"It may be a 'her'," Mukuro admitted, "A student named Fumi Sato was selected for the project." Junko nodded. "I see. For this project they'd have to go with someone completely average, a blank slate but still with room to grow. And they'd need to be willing to partake in the project. She probably doesn't know what she's in for." Junko smiled. "This is perfect. We can finally start our final plan! With Izuru on our side, the so called Ultimate Hope will bring the world to its knees!" She held up Sayaka's picture. "But first a little distraction."

* * *

Hearing about a disturbance in a local park in the wake of Sayaka being targeted for a Despair monster, Hajime rode out with Ryota, Byakuya, and Makoto. Several people were in a zombie-like state, and the familiar voice of Sayaka, filtered through a sound-system due to the distorted voice the Despairs often had, could be heard. "We'd better transform before getting in close," Hajime noted. The group got out their drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Gashapon Active!" "Fist On!" "Mighty Form!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

The Riders ran around the crowd the long way, eventually spotting the Pop Sensation's Despair on the stage and confronting her. Seeing the Riders, it pointed its fingers at its mouth and vocalized, creating an energy echo that it fired off to attack. Ixa and Kuuga swapped modes to counterattack. _**"Garulu Saber!" "Titan Form!"**_ Using their blades, the two Riders cut through the energy echoes. OOO took a different approach, trying out something new for the fight. _**"Taka! Kame! Tyranno!"**_

Normally the Purple and Orange Medals couldn't be used with the other sets, but under Hajime's power they could now sync with the rest, letting him use all new random combos. He spun around, alternating using his shield and tail to block or deflect the attacks before lashing out against the Despair. Birth grabbed one of the Cell Medals that was sheered off and used it to power one of his Birth CLAWS. _**"Vermillion Bucket!"**_ Using the shovel arm, Birth grabbed the Despair and ran at OOO, who nodded and switched out his torso. _**"Taka! Gorilla! Tyranno!"**_

The Despair found itself between a rock and a hard place as Birth slammed it into OOO's outstretched fist while he was throwing a punch, causing significant damage. Seeing it stagger, OOO switched to a combo while Ixa and Kuuga charged up. _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!" "Scanning Charge!"**_ The three Riders hit the Despair with a triple Rider Slash. "Gush Cross!" "Howling Slash!" "Calamity Titan!" The Despair was destroyed, freeing the crowd from its spell.

As the Riders canceled their transformations, Byakuya looked concerned. "Even accounting for the fact that this Despair came from Sayaka," he noted, "This seemed far too easy. Other than enthralling the crowd, it did little to wear down its Cell Medal cache." "That's true," Hajime admitted, "And the timing is too perfect. We get a new Despair right when we learn the Kamakura Project has been restarted? That's too big a coincidence to ignore."

* * *

Junko grinned as she infiltrated the room where Izuru was supposed to be kept. Little did she know what Izuru really was. The AI, now inhabiting the body of Sato, grinned internally as the young woman she had made her puppet appeared before her. Now doubt Junko still had her own plans, and perhaps they could still work. But it was not likely to happen, and Fumiko had provided a wonderful alternative. _'I'll let you spin your little webs, Junko Enoshima. But I think you'll find your prey much stronger than the average fly.'_

* * *

The Killing Game. A terrible blood sport built on paranoia, deceit, mistrust, and despair. The only way to win, to survive, was to learn to rise above such cynicism. But it was never easy, and it always came with casualties. But now, it was no more. During the time of The Tragedy, Sayaka found herself comforted by Makoto, who promised he'd find a way to help her escape. She knew she could put her trust in him, and ultimately it proved well-placed. She was the first, and with her fate re-written, only one true death occurred as a result. But her change was soon to arrive.

To be continued...

 **Yes folks, even though we have effectively erased the Killing Game from existence, there are still some deaths to undo. What, you thought I'd leave Mukuro and Junko in the lurch? Villains or not, they do have** _ **some**_ **redeeming qualities. Mukuro more than Junko, but that's beside the point. Also, I hope you OOO fanatics won't come after me with torches and pitchforks over using the Purple and Orange Medals in random combos. I just thought it'd fit with Hajime now being a physical god. Read and review.**


	46. Chapter 46: Soldier

**We're up to the next chapter, and here's where I toss you guys a curve ball. You ready to hit it? Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 46: Missing Friend, Soldier, and the Desperate Gamble

Mahiru sighed. It was the third day since she was unable to get ahold of Sato. She had checked with a few people to see if they knew where she had gone, but no one in her class knew. She even dared to ask Natsumi, much to the Yakuza princess's surprise. She decided to ask Juzo, since he seemed to be in league with Hajime, who had also been in Sato's class prior to his promotion. "Not seen for three days?," Juzo asked, "That's unusual, given her attendance record. I'll contact her folks, see if they know anything." _'And if they don't,'_ he thought to himself, _'Then I think I know who was selected for the Kamakura project.'_

* * *

Junko smiled as she watched Izuru work her magic. With the talents of the Ultimate Animator and Ultimate Neurologist, it was almost like the perfect shortcut to her plans. "Doing this will take a little bit of time and research," Izuru clarified, "Only Yasuke and Ryota knew the particulars of their experiments. I can analyze their work and reverse engineer it, but that will take some samples." Mukuro sighed. "And we're out of Despairs to use against the Kamen Riders should they interfere."

That was a significant downside to Izuru's powers. While she did have the talent of the Ultimate Kamen Rider, Hajime's talent, it was useless without her own Driver and the Core Medals Hajime used for his powers. And Izuru knew she'd stand no chance of beating a Kamen Rider without that same sort of power. Junko shrugged. "We'll just go and grab it for ourselves. I'm sure I can seduce a few Reserve Course students into helping us out." While her talent as the Ultimate Fashionista was actually a secondary talent, she was still proud of her body and sensuality.

* * *

Akane was in ecstasy at that moment. She was topless, but facedown so her nipples weren't visible. Kneeling over her while kneading her pressure points was Nekomaru, using his secondary talent as the Ultimate Masseuse. In order to keep up with the increasing demands of the Practical Exams, Akane had to actually get serious about her gymnastics, which was honestly exhausting. Luckily Nekomaru was serious about taking care of athletes under his care, including helping Akane relax. _'If he's this good with his hands, how will it be when we finally take our relationship to the next level...'_

There was a knock on the door, prompting Nekomaru to get up and Akane to put her shirt back on. Chiaki walked in with Mahiru. "We have a problem," Chiaki said, "Mahiru's friend Sato has seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth." "Not even her parents know what happened to her," Mahiru explained, "They just assumed she was still at the student dorms, but no one there can remember seeing her and she's always been a social butterfly. I even got her to be friends with Mikan, Ibuki, and Hiyoko."

Akane blinked. "Wow, you're really beat up about this, aren't you?" "I can't really blame her," Chiaki admitted, "If it was Hajime in that situation I'd be the same way. We wanted to ask for your help, since as Kivala your senses are far sharper." Akane's nose was already stronger than normal, being able to pick up smells sooner than other people. As Kivala she was practically a bloodhound, able to track any smell with ease. "Sure, if you really need it. Can't be too hard to find her."

* * *

As the trio followed the smell from Sato's room, Mahiru looked at the odd sight of Kivala. "Her suit is so elegant in design, yet she looks like a hunting animal the way she's moving. It's a little unnerving." Kivala was haunched over on all fours, her head moving like she was sniffing the air. Soon enough, they came across Junko and Mukuro talking with some of the Reserve Course students, one of them looking flustered as Junko was teasing him by pulling on the edge of her blouse near her cleavage.

Kivala knew about Junko and Mukuro being their enemies, but that wasn't what she was concerned with at the moment. Instead she walked up to Junko and sniffed her a little bit. "Hey, Junko was it?," she asked, "Why do you smell like Sato?" Junko blinked. "Sato? Who is that?" "A friend of mine," Mahiru explained. "And from what I'm smelling her scent is all over you,"Kivala explained. Junko shrugged. "We've been all over campus all day and talked to plenty of Reserve Course students. Maybe we hung out near her room." "How did you even know Sato was part of the Reserve Course?," Chiaki asked, "We never mentioned it, and most students here would assume a friend of an Ultimate must be another Ultimate."

Of course, Junko knew Sato was part of the Reserve Course because Mukuro had done some digging. But given that Junko was supposed to be just a fashionista, explaining herself would be difficult since she couldn't rely on simple explanations without hesitating and looking suspicious. And the only person she needed to fool, Akane, was of a low enough IQ that complex explanations sailed over her head causing her to ignore them in favor of what she knew. Which pretty much boiled down to, "Junko is an enemy and smells like someone I'm looking for." Even the dumb gymnast was smart enough to put two and two together and get four.

Making matters worse, Hajime showed up at that moment, looking for Akane. "Kivala," he said, "We've just word that Sato may have chosen for the Kamakura Project. Kogami and Taro did some digging and found her disappearance coincides with the project being renewed." He then turned to see Junko and Mukuro, Mukuro looking more concerned at the situation. "I think these two know something," Kivala said, "They smell like Sato. Mahiru brought me to Sato's room earlier."

"Guess the cat's out of the bag, Sis," Junko said, brining out her Driver while Mukuro got hers. "Henge!" _**"Sasori! Kani! Ebi! Sasa-Ni-Bi!"**_ Reacting, Hajime got out his own Driver. "Henshin!" _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ OOO got out his Medajalibur and clashed with Dark while Kivala rushed down and attacked Fenrir, who tried shooting at her with her sidearm before switching to her blade when the feral Rider got in close. Kivala was so fast and unpredictable, much like her normal gymnastic routines, that even the Ultimate Soldier had trouble keeping pace.

At one point, Fenrir got knocked back from a sharp kick. Sensing an opening, Kivala got out one of her fuestles. _**"Goblin Sword!"**_ Holding the sword near Kiva-la, the young kiva blew a kiss that charged the weapon. Fenrir watched as Kivala created a number of energy slashes in midair before halting. "Hundred Horde Blades!" The slashes lunged forward striking Fenrir over and over until they actually damaged her reinforced Driver, forcing her transformation to cancel.

Staggered, but still standing, Mukuro stared down Kivala before reaching into a pocket in her skirt. _"Mukuro, no!,"_ Dark called out, seeing what she was doing. OOO, Kivala, Chiaki, and Mahiru gasped when Mukuro brought out a Black Medal, one Junko had crafted has part of an experiment to see if she could. Mukuro had seen it and grabbed it for emergencies. Dark knew what Mukuro was thinking. A Despair crafted from her could be strong enough to defeat the Riders, but if they destroyed it, Mukuro would be lost to her sister forever. It was an all or nothing gamble, and Mukuro had shown from their games with Celeste that she was a terrible gambler.

In spite of her sister's pleas, Mukuro held the Medal up to her head, causing a coin slot to appear. Instantly she threw the coin in, causing Cell Medals to manifest across her body. The detached and formed into the Soldier's Despair, which looked armed to the teeth. Dark was so distraught she collapsed to the ground, leaving OOO free to help Kivala fight the monster. The Despair was no harder to maneuver around than its host, but just as difficult to damage. OOO soon saw the reason why through his Taka eyes. The Despair was protected by a powerful armor across its entire body.

"Kivala, stand back!," he called out, placing some Cell Medals into the Medajalibur. Once he had three, he swiped his O Scanner across it. _**"Triple Scanning Charge!"**_ OOO dashed across the field, striking the Despair with a mighty slash. "OOO Bash!" As reality corrected itself, the Soldier's Despair exploded, still intact but with its armor now destroyed, confirmed by the Cell Medals that got sheared off from the attack. The Despair was staggered, and now suffered a barrage from Kivala that knocked off more Medals.

It wasn't long before the creature was on its last legs, OOO and Kivala standing side by side. "Let's finish it for real!," Kivala called out, getting out her main fuestle. _**"Wake Up!" "Scanning Charge!"**_ The Riders launched their Rider Kicks at the Despair. "New Moon Breaker!" "Tatoba Kick!" The two attacks nailed the Despair in its center of mass, finally destroying it as it scattered into Cell Medals. "And that's that," OOO said. "Guys!," Chiaki called out, "Dark disappeared!" The Riders looked around and realized Chiaki was right.

* * *

Junko had finally gotten to a spot where she could observe the aftermath. As she looked at the sight of her sister being carried off, she felt a tear come to her eye. "Well," Izuru said as she came up, "This looks interesting. By the way, while you were busy I decided to try getting what I need personally. I couldn't find anything regarding Yasuke's work but I was able to see a sample of Ryota's new anime. I think I can reverse engineer what we need from that." She turned around to leave. "You should be happy. You got a good dose of the despair you wanted." Junko looked at her sister again. _'Then why do I feel so horrible about this?'_

* * *

With Mukuro no longer on Junko's side during The Tragedy, she was able to survive during the School Killing Game, and chose to train a regiment of mercenaries who stopped mass riots and protected people in need. A strong military was welcomed, and even though Mukuro never joined Future Foundation, she was seen as a hero in her own right, even earning the respect of the Kamen Riders.

To be continued...

 **Yeah. Bet you never saw this coming. Mukuro was as much a victim of her sister's twisted schemes as anyone else, so I felt she deserved her own chance to have her fate changed. And by the way, I intended this from the beginning. Read and review.**


	47. Chapter 47: Homeroom

**The fight continues as we move into the penultimate chapter before the second half (well, kinda half). Get ready as we continue to struggle against despair. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 47: Student Council, Homeroom, and a Giant Mech

Izuru worked to finish the product they needed for Junko's plan. Junko was sulking a bit, since now her sister seemed so far from her reach. Worst of all, even though it was despair, she wasn't enjoying it. Izuru, for her part, smirked in secret. _'It seems I don't have have as much total control as I imagined, but that only makes it easier when it comes time to cut that string. She still hasn't understood the reality of her situation.'_

* * *

"It was in the middle of a fight our parents had," Mukuro said the next day. She had recovered from her ordeal, but now her Fenrir Driver was ruined beyond all repair. Even if Foundation X wanted to, they couldn't help. And Kazuichi confirmed the Driver was busted. Mukuro continued her story. "I had wound up just running away during a family trip. Junko didn't learn about it until after she and our folks were already back in Japan. I guess it hit her hard. I was taken in by the head trainer at Fenrir, who taught me how to fend for myself. It was there that I learned I had a gift for combat."

"But you were just a trainee at the time," Sonia noted, "Yet you still experienced real combat?" "When Fenrir's leader saw how skilled I was, he decided it might be worth it to see how I'd do in real combat," Mukuro replied, "If not for the leader being defeated during the siege of Novoselic, I might have been sent there as well. After they were disbanded, I returned to Japan using the money I'd earned and got in contact with my family. That's when Junko told me everything that had happened since."

That's when Ryota walked into the room, along with Juzo. "Something happened while I was unveiling my new anime," Ryota explained. Juzo brought out a recording of the security video, and a certain person attending made Mukuro's eyes go wide. "That's Izuru Kamakura." "Then I was right," Hajime said, "I recognize her as Fumi Sato from my former class in the Reserve Course."

"The Kamakura project was named after the original Izuru Kamakura, the founder of the academy," Chisa explained, "In his time, the school was just like any other, helping young Ultimates get a good education while also fostering their talents, eventually allowing them to give hope to those outside the school." "But the school had started to change in recent years," Kyosuke noted, "In our time at the academy the regular classes were still mandatory and the Reserve Course didn't exist. It's quite a sharp contrast."

"So," Hajime said, "What's Junko and Izuru's next step?" "Junko wants to trap the student council in something she calls a Killing Game," Mukuro replied, "She's already got a full set of rules planned out, but first she wants to do a dry run of it just to see if she can actually drive people to kill each other." "Juzo," Kyosuke said, "Who's the current Ultimate Student Council President?" Juzo thought for a moment. "That'd be... Soshun Murasame. By all rights a capable president."

"As I recall," Chiaki said, "The other members are Aiko Umesawa the 76th Ultimate Lucky Student, Asukasei Hino the Ultimate Scholar, Daiki Kubo the Ultimate Journalist, Karen Kisaragi the Ultimate Secretary, Kiriko Nishizawa the Ultimate Stylist, Kotomi Ikuta the Ultimate Vice President, Ryota Someya the Ultimate Sniper, Shoji Yoko the Ultimate Forensic Scientist, Sosuke Ichino the Ultimate Treasurer, Suzuko Kashiki the Ultimate Talk Show Host, Taro Kurosaki the Ultimate Public Speaker, Tomohiko Goryuko the Ultimate Muay Thai Master, and Tsubasa Kamii the Ultimate Florist."

"They're also protected by the Madarai Brothers," Juzo continued, "Isshiki Madarai holds the title of Ultimate Bodyguard, and together with his seven brother they have the title of Ultimate Multiple Birth Siblings." "What's with some of the talents at this school being so weird?," Hajime asked with a sigh, "I was given the title of Ultimate Kamen Rider, but I can only use it with my Driver and the Core Medals. Plus, I've heard of some other weird talents, like one girl who is the Ultimate Brother Complex. I'm starting to wonder what I ever saw in this school."

* * *

"We're just about ready for your trial run of the Killing Game," Izuru said, "I've already been allowed to join the Student Council, were I will observe the events. I'm eager to see the results." "Great," Junko said, starting to feel better knowing her plans were still on track, "And if Hajime or the other Riders show up, you can stomp him with his own talent!" "I'd need a Driver for that," Izuru said flatly, leaving Junko dumbfounded. "Oh right... His talent only works because of his Driver... I'll call Monaca."

* * *

As the Riders got the call of a giant robot attacking near the Academy, Hajime hurried to find the student council room. Outside, he heard TVs going on. It was clear Junko was getting ready to broadcast the Killing Game. And from the look of it, she was targeting the Reserve Course. "She's planning on making a riot," he noted, "But will it even work at this point?" He hurried along, but got stopped before he could reach the door. "Sorry," the reptile-like man said, likely Isshiki or one of his siblings, "But I've been told to not let anyone into the room until the council is finished with their meeting."

Hajime sighed. He wondered if Isshiki could be made to listen to reason, but if Izuru was involved that wasn't likely. "I don't have time to waste talking," he said, getting his Driver ready. He normally wouldn't use it against a human, but Ultimates tended to have more resilient physicalities. Swiping his O Scanner with the Purple Medals, he called out, "Henshin!" _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"**_ Isshiki raised an eyebrow but didn't move, at least not until OOO plowed his fist into Isshiki's stomach, knocking him aside.

"If the rest of you Madarai Brothers want to try and stop me from saving lives," OOO called out, suspecting the rest of the brothers were around, "Now's the time." If there were any more Madarais around, they weren't moving. Nodding to himself, OOO hurried to the council room. Trying the door and finding it locked, OOO heard scared voices coming from within and quickly knocked the door down using his Tricera horns. He looked in for a minute before a female voice called out, "I'm coming Mom!" The familiar form of Karen rushed past him, a fearful look in her eyes.

The other council members looked at each other with shocked looks, as Soshun breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Hajime, right?" OOO nodded. He spotted Izuru leave out a different door, but he'd have time for her later. "What happened in here?" "Some crazy underclassman showed up here," Daiki explained, "Gave us all files with videos or pictures, saying bad things had happened to people close to us. Personally I can't believe she'd even be able to pull something like that off."

"I warned her that her plan would fail," Soshun said, "But she smirked, saying she had ways of making us kill each other. I tried playing the peacemaker, when you busted down the door. Probably helped prevent everything. Though I didn't notice Karen's behavior until her outburst. I bet Kyosuke would have done a better job here." OOO shrugged. "Who can say? The important thing is Junko's Killing Game has been stopped before it could even get off the ground." Kotomi nodded. "We owe a debt of thanks." OOO then got a message from the others. 'OOO, that giant robot is rampaging hard,' came Birth's voice. "I'm on my way," OOO replied.

* * *

Outside the academy, Mage was trying to attack the Riders as they dodged out of her way. Luckily, her special armor that came with her stronger robot form kept them from harming her in turn. However, that was when OOO came rushing up in his Putotyra combo, Medagabryu in hand. With a spinning strike, OOO cleaved through Mage's armor like it was butter, leaving her endoframe vulnerable. OOO turned around, the other Riders standing beside him as he switched to his standard form. _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

The Riders leapt into the air, performing their various Rider Kicks. "Trump Striker!" "Aqua Vortex!" "Ace Extreme!" "Judgement Rendered!" "Infinite Mirage!" "Den-Rider Kick!" "Rider Kick!" "Skull Banisher!" "Rainbow Shining!" "New Moon Breaker!" "Savage Pounce!" "Mighty Kick!" "Dimension Kick!" "Eagle Dive!" "Crawler Leap!" "Tatoba Kick!" The sixteen kicks collided against the large mech, causing it to break down and return to its normal Armored Rider Mage form. Realizing her transformation was about to cancel, leaving her vulnerable, Mage decided to leave, using her special powers to teleport away.

* * *

Izuru finally found herself alone, having been mobbed by people who wanted answers from the student council about what was happening. It seemed joining the council to observe the Killing Game had its downsides. Still, she was both surprised and impressed. Hajime had interrupted the game far sooner than she expected. She had thought Hajime would never use his powers on a human, but it seemed he had no qualms about doing so when lives were on the line. A minor oversight, but it only hurt Junko's plans, not her own. Junko still had no clue what was happening yet, having been busy putting the finishing touches on her first ever "execution machine".

It seemed the fashionista was ready to put her final phase into action, though Izuru suspected it was too little, too late. Izuru had taken a good look at the 77th class, who Junko was interested in due to their numerous dark and troubled backstories, which were supposed to make them ripe for conversion. She hoped to make them vulnerable to despair again by killing their class representative, Chiaki, who was much beloved by the entire class. And with Kyoko heading back into Tokyo for an important assignment, the timing seemed perfect. "Foundation X is getting ready," Izuru noted, "The battle between hope and despair is set to begin, but under a different game master."

To be continued...

 **You were probably expecting a full-out battle against Isshiki. I'll admit I considered it, but decided it would be strange for even an Ultimate without any supernatural powers to fight a Kamen Rider evenly, though they could probably handle being struck by one. But now, we have one final fight before the Tragedy arc, which is gonna be a long one. Read and review.**


	48. Chapter 48: Fashion

**This is it, we're ready to merge the two stories, both this one and Nine Phantom Thieves. Also, there's something I've been meaning to do regarding Joker. Unfortunately, with her being busy helping the other Joker (the phantom thief one) I'll have to wait until a chapter or two down the line. It has something to do with the NG codes of the Kamen Riders during the Final Killing Game. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 48: Rescue, Fashion, and The Tragedy Begins

Most of the reconstruction of the Gifted Inmates Academy was completed, and the students were sitting around enjoying some afternoon tea prepared by Kirumi. One the news, the report of the attempted attacks on Hope's Peak were becoming slightly more mundane, albeit still crazy, with talks about an attempt to massacre the student council, though details were still sketchy. "I'm starting to think attending that school is hazardous to your health," Miu quipped.

"If things like this keep up," Keebo wondered, "What could happen to the school? It seems someone is working to try and collapse the academy for some as yet unknown reason." "The academy will not fall," Angie noted, "But it will be pushed to the brink. This is what Atua speaks to me. Don't forget Hope's Peak has its own god to pull it back before it can fall." "It's out of our hands either way," Korekiyo replied, "All we can do for now is sit back and watch, and hope things turn out for the best."

* * *

The 77th class was gathered to discuss their plans for the upcoming year. "I was thinking something," Chiaki said, "Since Hajime's birthday falls on New Year's maybe we could combine our New Year celebration with his birthday celebration." "I didn't realize the two events coincided," Gundham admitted, "It is a fitting birthday for one who has just risen to godhood." "Kogami liked the idea too," Hajime said, "Said the idea of a human being born as the year began was fitting for the one who bears the power of OOO."

The class had recently learned about Hajime's official ascension, becoming a living god. The one downside was trying to get Nagito to calm down from the excitement, he believed that Hajime now represented the culmination of hope he had been seeking, but beyond that Hajime's friends didn't treat him any different than normal. Well, save for Gundham's posturings now reflecting his respect for Hajime, but that was just Gundham being Gundham.

With the Killing Game prevented and the student council grateful the information they were handed was falsified to provide a motive, it seemed things would go back to normal around Hope's Peak Academy. Even the steering committee was slowly losing influence, as their intentions for the academy started to crumble with the Main Course and Reserve Course mingling more and more often. But Hajime was still growing concerned, since Junko and Izuru were still unaccounted for.

* * *

Laster, the girls from the class, including Chisa, were enjoying themselves in the bathhouse of the academy. "Gotta say," Ibuki said, "We've got some real fanservice in this room. Did someone double-check for peeping toms?" "I made sure to secure the area," Chisa assured her students, "Though it seems not even Teruteru's made an attempt." "Too bad," Hiyoko said as she walked in, her bathing towel making it more obvious just how much she had caught up with the bustier girls, "I'd have loved an excuse to bop him good."

Mahiru sighed. "And I'm at the bottom of the pack here..." Hiyoko freaked and waved her arms. "Sorry Big Sis! I didn't mean to leave you in the dust like that!" "Yeah besides," Ibuki said, "Ibuki has the honor of smallest bust in this class. I'm only 76cm!" "That's still barely smaller than me," Mahiru noted, "I'm at 77cm. Hiyoko, however, managed to grow up to 88cm." "That ties her with me," Chiaki noted. Hiyoko looked sheepish. "I guess I did grow more than I wanted. I just wanted to be beloved by more than pervy old men. Now I can start attracted boys my own age when I dance!"

"When did we start a boob comparison?," Akane asked, "Weren't we just bathing?" "Says the biggest bust in the class!," Hiyoko called out, "Seriously, it's no wonder you don't get fat in spite of all the food you eat!" Chisa laughed. "Either that or all the workouts she does." "Totally," Akane agreed, "I can't exactly do any sort of gymnastics, especially rehearsed routines, if I don't keep myself in shape." 'Chiaki Nanami, please report to the headmaster's office,' came a voice over the intercom. "Wonder what that's all about," Chiaki said as she got out of the bath.

* * *

Hajime had gotten word that Chiaki had been kidnapped, and some sort of video was being broadcast to his classmates. From the top of the academy, he activated some Medals. _**"Cobra! Tora! Batta!"**_ While OOO couldn't see Chiaki outside, he did note something interesting. There seemed to be some sort of doorway in the ground near the statue of the original Izuru Kamakura. Nodding, he switched Medals. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Conder! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_

OOO placed the head Core Medals into the Taja Spinner and applied his O Scanner. _**"Taka! Kuwagata! Lion! Sai! Shachi! Petra! Cobra! GI-GI-GI-GIGA SCAN!"**_ Aiming for the door, OOO busted through and found himself in a series of hallways. His enhanced sight quickly led him to a large area where Chiaki was just stumbling out of an elevator. Seeing several cameras around, OOO had a good idea what Junko's plan was. He fired off a few shots from his shield, blasting the cameras away.

'You again!,' Junko's voice came from a nearby monitor, 'Can't you butt out for once!?' "Not so long as my friends and loved ones are in danger!," OOO retorted. Junko growled and seemed to press something. Seeing the spears come out of the walls, OOO managed to dodge most of them, though the ones that didn't merely broke off when they hit his armor. "That's way too much danger to move forward," he said, blasting the walls to reveal numerous more traps.

Once the entire room was disabled, he turned to Chiaki, only to get a pleasant surprise when she rushed to hug him. "Thanks for coming to my rescue," she said, "You're like the perfect video game protagonist." "We're not out of this dungeon yet," OOO said, "Thought the immediate danger has passed." They hurried through a nearby room, only to be stopped by Dark. _"I've had just about enough of your interfering!"_ "And I've had enough of your tormenting of my friends," OOO retorted, getting out his Purple Medals. _**"Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"**_

Chiaki watched in excitement as the two Riders, both Kamen and Armored, clash with each other. She found herself subconsciously holding an imaginary controller, her fingers moving like she was controlling OOO's movements. _'Old habits...,'_ she thought to herself. Still, it was clear that all this time fighting Dark had made OOO quite familiar with her abilities. It was probably the other way around as well, but Dark's strength just paled in comparison.

Finally, OOO dug into the ground to retrieve his Medagabryu. "Something you should know about the Purple Medals," OOO said, "They were originally meant to destroy other Core Medals. At first it seemed that power was lost, but there's still your Medals to consider." Dark looked at her Driver in shock, while OOO inserted a few Cell Medals into the axe-head to charge it. _**"Gulp!"**_ Charging the blade, OOO slashed it across Dark's Driver. "Ground of Rage!"

The attack instantly shattered the Kani and Ebi Medals, canceling Junko's transformation. However, the Sasori Medal remained intact. Grabbing it and dropping her Driver, she quickly left. OOO picked up Chiaki bridal style, making her blush, and flew out the way he came in. Outside, something seemed to be happening. A large tower could be seen in the distance, a white figure attempting to attack it and apparently getting attacked in return. All around the sky seemed to have taken on a reddish hue.

Nearby, Junko was giggling in a sad tone, the Sasori Medal clutched in her hand. "This makes no sense...," she muttered, "This dark, empty feeling. This is supposed to be despair, but I'm not getting the usual rush from it. I had it all thought out, hope is predictable while despair is chaotic..." "Only at first," OOO rebutted, "Hope can spring from reliable sources, but where it ends cannot be predicted. And it doesn't always end positively. That is why they say 'hope springs eternal'. On the other hand, while despair can sneak up on you, its a self-destructive state that invariably leads to nothingness."

Junko growled. "No... No, I cannot accept this outcome! I was the one who was supposed to bring this world to its knees! To start this Tragedy! My Ultimate Despair, The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History! And it was ripped from me... But I won't let it go to waste." She turned to OOO, a coin slot appearing in her head. "Uh oh," Chiaki said, "True Final Boss time." In an instant, Junko tossed the Sasori Medal into the slot, getting covered by a large amount of Cell Medals that seemed to expand to cover a wide area.

The Medals finally solidified into a large creature that seemed to hold elements of all the Despairs that had been fought up until that moment. "This is more than just the Fashionista's Despair," Chiaki noted, "It's more like... The Analyst's Despair." "Guess I'll need to go all out for this one then," OOO decided as he got out his Green Medals. _**"Kuwagata! Kamakiri! Batta! Ga~ta-Gata-Gata-Kiri, Ba! Gatakiriba!"**_ As he created several duplicates, he handed out Medals to each of them. _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!" "Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... Sa-Go-Zo!" "Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!" "Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!" "Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!" "Cobra! Kame! Wani! Bura-Ka~~Wani!"**_

The seven combos went to attack the giant Despair, slowly cutting off each piece in turn. Once an opening was found, they each prepared their finishers. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Gatakiriba Kick!" "Gush Cross!" "Sagozo Impact!" "Prominence Drop!" "Octo Banish!" "Blasting Freezer!" "Warning Ride!" The seven attacks broke off a single layer from the creature, the armor collapsing into Cell Medals. "Hajime!," Chiaki called out, "I can see a glowing light in the center of the Despair! That's we in the gaming community call an 'Eff Me' light! Try aiming for it!"

OOO soon spotted the light in question. "Couldn't hurt." His copies tossed their head Medals to Tajador, who placed them in his Taja Spinner. _**"Taka! Kuwagata! Lion! Sai! Shachi! Ptera! Cobra! GI-GI-GI-GIGA SCAN!"**_ Launching his attack at the glowing light, the Analyst's Despair exploded into Cell Medals. However, it seemed this Despair was dual leveled, with the Fashionista's Despair emerging from the explosion. "Nekomaru has two talents but only had one Despair form," Chiaki noted, "How much despair must Junko be harboring?"

OOO's copies remerged, and he got out his starter Medals. "This started with my Multi Combo. Might as well finish it the same way." He placed the Medals in his Driver and scanned them. _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ Now in his default form, OOO continued to fight the Despair, striking it with his Tora claws several times. Once the creature was staggered, OOO knew it was time to finished it. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ Leaping into the air, OOO saw the three rings appear before him. "Tatoba kick!"

The flying kick screeched down toward the Despair, destroying it on contact. Junko started to get up, and saw the Medal had been ejected and was no shattered. Without even one of the Medals, Junko couldn't copy them to make more Despairs. She turned to OOO, grimacing. She then ran over to him in an effort to slug him, only to get countered easily. "Damn it...," she muttered, "Why? Even with all the despair I had, all the despair I wanted... Why can't I win against you?"

OOO sighed. "Because no matter how much you desire despair, the point of fact is that you _desire._ Desire is a force stronger than hope or despair, because it can be drawn from anything, even its own opposite." Chiaki then walked behind Junko and plucked something from her neck, causing her to yelp, then look around in confusion. "Was I doing something? I have a vague recollection of going to Hope's Peak, but beyond that..." She then looked at the sky and freaked out. "What the heck is up with that!? Who opened a gateway to some alternate reality without thinking of the consequences!?"

OOO was confused, until he saw Chiaki holding a metallic object. "This was on Junko's neck," she explained, "I thought it was weird that she still seemed to hold feelings of despair in spite of her Despair monster being destroyed. Then I saw this as she got up." OOO kneeled down to Junko. "How much do you remember?" "I've had several blackouts," Junko admitted, "Sometimes I can remember what I was doing, but not what I was thinking. Some sort of subtle brainwashing, perhaps, with a sensation like looking at yourself act through a television."

* * *

Later Chihiro and Kazuichi examined the device in question and learned something terrible about it. "I think I know what might have happened to Sato," Chihiro said, "This device is connected to a digital entity, who was some limited remote control over whoever its attached to. And that digital entity... Is an AI based off Izuru Kamakura!" "If this is what happened to Junko," Makoto said, "Who else might've been tagged with similar devices?"

"The Steering Committee," Jin said, having overheard the conversation, "They originally developed an AI based on the brain patterns of Izuru Kamakura hoping it could help regulate the academy after his death. But while it had Kamakura's intelligence and talent, it didn't have the compassion that he was known, something the Steering Committee never considered thinking it was meaningless." "And now that AI has teamed up with Foundation X," Kyoko said, finally returning.

"It's been all over the news feeds," Kyosuke said, "Governments are collapsing all over the world. Major cities are still holding due to smaller scale governmental control, but they're being cut off from each other." "We've traded one villain for another," Hajime noted, "Who knows how Izuru intends to continue moving forward." The Riders gathered together. "Our mission is only beginning. We may have stopped Junko, and helped her remember who she once was. But now Foundation X, aided by Izuru, intends to implement her plans in their own image. This goes beyond Hope's Peak Academy. Riders, we have a planet to save!"

To be continued...

 **Bet you weren't expecting me to cut out Junko as a villain, were you? But don't worry, we still have troubles aplenty. The Tragedy, or at least Foundation X's version of it, has begun, and now the Kamen Riders need to fight to save the world. Keep watch, because things are about to get crazy. Read and review.**


	49. Chapter 49: To Survive

**When I was planning this series out, I did intend on a few things. This final arc will be separated into four mini-arc, Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Danganronpa 2, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy, and the endgame, each with six chapters. I was planning on naming each chapter after chapters from the game series, but I decided to stick with the OOO naming convention and instead have each chapter allude to a chapter title from the games. Although, the chapter names for Danganronpa 3 arc will actually come from V3. This next chapter title refers to Danganronpa 1's first chapter "To Survive". The Phantoms will show up here too, so if you haven't read "The Nine Phantom Thieves" yet, I recommend you do so to get some much-needed context. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 49: Survival, Sealed, and Escape

Months had passed since the The Tragedy began, and the world was showing signs of recovery. Rioters were directed to Hope's Peak Academy in an effort to bring it down, to no avail. The Kamen Riders and the Reserve Course fought to keep the place safe. Ultimately, however, Jin didn't want anymore people risking their lives. Instead, the school was sealed along with himself and the 78th class. Everyone else joined forces with a new group attempting to undo The Tragedy, called Future Foundation. Despite the fact that many of their friends had joined this new group, the Kamen Riders felt skeptical, and chose to act independently.

A full year later, Hajime got a communication from Chisa, who was currently the head of Future Foundation's Fifth Division, which was involved in intelligence gathering and couter-espionage. "How's things been going?," Hajime asked. 'Slow it seems,' Chisa replied, 'Foundation X has been placing its members deep in government in an effort to consolidate their hold over the world. Worse still, my network suggests Izuru has been hampering our efforts by placing several brainwashed agents into our ranks.' "Our own efforts are also slowed down with seven of our members absent," Hajime noted.

'Seven?,' Chisa replied, 'But only six of you are in the 78th class.' "Yeah, but Yasuke went missing during a routine patrol," Hajime explained, "We haven't heard anything, but we do know he was last seen in Towa City, checking up on the Gifted Inmates." 'He's not the only missing person case we've had,' Chisa noted, 'In fact, there have been fifteen other similar disappearances starting from the beginning of the year, right when The Tragedy started.' Hajime rubbed his chin. "Sixteen in total, and starting from when Hope's Peak Academy was sealed. That can't be coincidence. Send the names to Kyosuke. I'm going to look around Towa City." He got out his Yellow Medals. _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!"**_

* * *

Meanwhile, a large grey van pulled up to Hope's Peak, out of which stepped nine young men and women dressed in particular garb. It was the Phantoms, here to help their friend and ally Kyoko. Skull banged on the front entrance. "Things sealed up tight, boss." Joker nodded. "Oracle, see if you can get in touch with Rider." Oracle nodded, then summoned a keypad in mid-air. Due Foundation X's actions merging reality with the Metaverse, the Phantoms were able to use their Persona powers wherever. Oracle in particular could send and receive messages via the masks the Phantoms' wore. And Kyoko also had such a mask.

* * *

Kyoko was speaking with the other Kamen Riders from their class when she got the message. Byakuya raised an eyebrow when the papillon mask appeared on her face. "Go ahead Oracle." "A friend on the outside?," Byakuya asked. "Yes, actually," Kyoko replied, "But it's a long story. What was that again, Oracle?" 'We're all outside, trying to find a way in.' "That'll be difficult," Kyoko said, "The place was sealed from the inside, and the only entrance is the front one. Unless... There is a loading bay area for supplies. Father had it left open but hidden in case an emergency escape was needed."

* * *

"Gotcha," Oracle replied. She turned to the others. "The loading bay." Joker nodded, and the group got moving. Once they got in, however, the doors sealed behind them. Joker took a quick look around. "Oracle, that vent." "Gotcha," Oracle replied, "Time to make like a tree." Her Persona Prometheus appeared behind her. She entered inside and floated up through the vent just as a monitor came on, showing a stuffed bear that was half white and half black, a wide toothy grin on one side. It was Monokuma, the one supposedly behind the School Killing Game.

'Well now, I expected someone might try and get through the loading dock,' it said, 'Would-be rescuers, eh? Don't get in a fuss, I won't try and stop you. But I went through a lot of trouble to put this Killing Game together, and I'm not about to let it go to waste. So while I won't stop you, I will slow you down. First off, the doors in front of you won't open until four people step in front of each.' Joker looked at the two doors. "Oracle, did you get that?"

'Heard it loud and clear,' Oracle replied, 'I'm further ahead. It seems there's a serious of six escape rooms behind each door, identical on both sides. See if you can get more information.' Joker nodded. He, Skull, Fox, and Mona stepped in front of the red door, while Panther, Church, Queen, and Noir stepped in front of the blue. The doors opened, allowing the groups in. 'Go ahead and step inside,' Monokuma said with a chuckle, 'No switching rooms now.'

The interior was set up like an explorer's study. 'Three of you approach the hexagonal table where indicated,' Monokuma said, 'It doesn't matter which of you.' Joker approached the table along with Skull and Fox. Immediately handcuffs and chains were wrapped around them at the wrists and ankles. 'Don't panic just yet,' Monokuma reassured them, 'You'll be getting out of those soon enough. What you are in is an escape room. You and the other group you came with are trapped in identical rooms.'

The bear laughed. 'If one of you can find your way out before a murder happens, then I'll open up a new are for the participants, which could possibly lead to a way out. Of course, it will also lead to new methods of murder, so each room could have less time. If you can't, I'll open the doors and let you move on to the next escape room. What happens to the group that can't leave in the event you succeed, you may ask? To that I have a special key. This will either let all the participants escape, or you can let your other group through.'

Mona got in contact with Kyoko. "We have a situation." He explained everything. 'I'd like to escape as soon as possible,' Kyoko said, 'But I'd also like to uncover just who put us through all this. Right now the only issue seems to be getting Sayaka to calm down. We've just been shown videos showing our closest friends or family in potential trouble, and Sayaka saw her idol group as possibly being dead. Makoto is managing to keep her calm. It helps that she's not as susceptible to panicking.' "Try to keep everyone from killing each other," Mona said, "Oracle, did you get that?"

'Yeah, and it works out for me,' Oracle replied, 'I can start datamining through the school. I can also open whichever door doesn't get open after the sixth room.' "Okay," Joker said, "Let's get started." The table opened up into a small slide maze with colored balls inside, and exit clearly marked in one corner. As each ball made it to the exit, they were shown to have bits of paper inside that included a letter on a series of dashes, indicating its position in a code of some kind.

When put together, it was discovered they were the code to a letter padlock under the maze. When it was unlocked, it revealed a drawer with a number code in it as well as keys to unlock the handcuffs for the ones chained to the table. The code opened a lock on the door and revealed pieces to the next code, a series of riddles and the missing piece to a balance scale in the room. The piece held a series of letters and the riddles referred to objects found around the room.

When the right objects were properly weighed on the scale, the letters spelled out the location of another code, hidden inside the deer head trophy. When the code was punched in, it opened the same clue drawer as before, revealing a copy of a painting in the room and pocket knife. The painting was of a figure pointing, which lead to a series of pointing figures in other paintings until it lead to a final painting that needed to be cut open with the pocket knife, revealing a roman numeral.

The numeral referred to a cuckoo clock with roman numerals on it, and when turned to the number depicted, released harmless steam from a nearby radiator that caused part of the wallpaper to peal away, revealing the next code. Inside was a key for the fireplace, which when turned, caused part of the floor to slide back. Pulling up the carpet above it revealed a sliding puzzle. Once solved, it revealed a random series of letters. When tried on the typewriter in the room, it revealed that the keys were actually mixed, and typing in the letters revealed different letters that spelled out the next code.

The final clue revealed was a newspaper article celebrating peace in France, dated back in the 1920s, but included in the picture was a campagne bottle. Those same bottles were found in a wooden crate in the room, along with a huge map of France hung up on one wall. As the title of the article suggested, the bottles were sprayed all over the map, revealing the final clue and the exit. By the end of it the girls wound up escaping first, using the key to get the boys out.

'Geez, cut me off before I can even get into my sadistic choice spiel why don't ya?,' Monokuma said as he came in over the monitor, 'Makes me think you're not ordinary rescuers. I'll have to look into this but in the meantime, a deal is a deal. I'll open up the second floor for the participants to venture into.' The Phantoms gathered together as Joker touched his mask. "Rider?" 'Just saw the grate open up,' Kyoko replied, 'Sayaka's finally calmed down. I explained everything, now everyone's waiting for you guys to get to the end.'

* * *

OOO raced onto the island, spotting something odd. The vast greenery that surrounded the island had been reduced to sand. Up above him, Fumiko spotted him. "So, OOO has arrived at our primary staging area. I was hoping to use Towa City to continue our hold, but if he's here then things could problematic. Fortunately, I have a special new enemy for him to face." She pulled out her tablet. "Activate, Sand Robo!" OOO became alert as a humanoid robot with drills for arms and an excavator motif appeared from ground.

 **"Enemy spotted! Engage! Engage!"** "So this is what Foundation X has been working on this past year," OOO noted, "Guess freeing this city starts with you!" OOO dodged away from the Robo, slashing with his claws enhanced with fire and wind powers. The creature was damaged, but seemed ready to return the favor. "Perhaps a bit more defense then," OOO decided. _**"Lion! Kame! Condor!"**_ OOO blocked the Robo's drills with his buckler while striking with the Condor talons, eventually staggering the robot.

"There's an opening," he realized, switching a full combo. _**"Cobra! Kame! Wani! Bura-Ka~~Wani!" "Scanning Charge!"**_ The Robo hesitated when it saw OOO sliding towards it. "Warning Ride!" The Wani legs tore through the Robo, causing it to blow up, OOO getting clear of the explosion. He didn't notice Fumiko as she left, but he did get the message from Kyosuke. 'I just got the names of the people who disappeared. It seems your hunch is correct. Each of them has a connection to someone in the 78th class.'

"We already know Yasuke is Junko's boyfriend," OOO noted, "What about the others?" Kyosuke started listing the names. 'Komaru Naegi, Makoto's younger sister. Hiroko Hagakure, Hiro's mother. Yuta Asahina, Hina's younger brother. Taichi Fujisaki, Chihiro's father. Kanon Nakajima, Leon's cousin. Takaaki Ishimaru, Taka's father. Fujiko Yamada, Hifumi's older sister. Ayaka Haneyama, a member of Sayaka's idol group. Grand Bois Cheri Ludenberg, Celeste's pet cat.'

"Wait, one of the disappearances was a cat?," OOO asked. 'Celeste is particularly found of him,' Kyosuke noted, 'Apparently he's been quite spoiled. Anyway, next is Kenshiro, Sakura's boyfriend. Fuhito Kirigiri, Kyoko's grandfather. Kameko, Toko's pet stink bug... No I am not even kidding.' OOO chuckled as Kyosuke continued. 'Aloysius Pennyworth, Byakuya's butler. Takemichi Yukimaru, a member of Mondo's gang. Yohei Kiritani, former member of Fenrir and Mukuro's mentor.'

"I remember that name in the news," OOO noted, "One of the targets of the Phantoms." 'Yes, he apparently couldn't let go of his war,' Kyosuke replied, 'And started taking on jobs to kill criminals. But his actions went too far and the Phantoms took action.' "All right," OOO said, "Something is going on in Towa City. I'm gonna scout around. See if some of the other Riders can get here." He walked over to a nearby Ridevendor and slotted in a Cell Medal, using the vehicle to hit the streets. It was going to be quite the search.

To be continued...

 **Yeah, had to do something to keep up the monster of the week quota. Don't expect them to last long, as they're only there to harass the Kamen Riders, who have bigger fish to fry. Next episode we do things a little out of order in terms of timeline. Read and review.**


	50. Chapter 50: Boy's Life of Despair

**A few episodes ago I teased the coming of a seventeenth Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Sonic. The clues I put in place point to someone interesting. The fact that the the hacking gun is being used to create a new Driver should make some people raise an eyebrow or two. Well, you'll see in this episode. We're doing things a little out of order for this. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 50: Boy's Life, Secrets, and the Seventeenth Rider

Kyosuke joined Hajime as they met with a contact in Towa City, a member of the faculty at the Gifted Inmates Academy. "You said you might have a lead on one of the captives?," Kyosuke asked. The man nodded. "Yeah. See I rent out an apartment in the middle of city. Good location, close to a restaurant if I feel like it, decent bus route to get too and from work. But that's not important. About a year ago as I was paying my rent I saw a young couple dressed in white bringing in a teenaged girl and asking for a room. The girl looked completely out of it."

"How so?," Hajime asked. The man thought for a second. "Well, her eyes were glassy and unfocused, like she was in a stupor or something. I finished my payment then pretended to leave, but stayed close so I could overhear. I mean, between how the girl looked and the fact that the couple looked too young to have a daughter that age, which they were claiming her to be, it made me suspicious, so I decided to gather what information I could in case it proved important."

"Are they still in the apartment?," Kyosuke asked. "The girl is, as far as I know," the man replied, "But that couple never returned. They just left. They had paid the apartment's owner to make meals three times a day and deliver them to the room using a special slot. See that's another thing that caught my attention. Even though this was supposed to be a family, they requested a single bedroom apartment built to accommodate hikikomori. But I noted the door was locked from the outside, like they were trying to keep her in there."

"The white suits could indicate those were members of Foundation X," Kyosuke noted, "We suspect Izuru is the one pulling the strings of the killing game, but what does Foundation X get out of it?" "Justification to continue running the planet," Hajime theorized, "The symbols of hope kill each other, and Foundation X's leader make a speech about how their rule is needed more than ever. But something's got that Monokuma in a tizzy, because even though a murder hasn't happened yet, more of the game area is being opened up. Let's make sure he can't continue to use those captives."

* * *

Meanwhile in the academy, Makoto was sighing as Mondo and Kiyotaka were once again in the middle of a sauna duel. Though they seemed more eager to just talk during this once, as Mondo had decided not to handicap himself this time. "Our biggest secrets out there for all the world to see, huh?," Mondo noted, "I wonder how he'd even get them out there in the first place." Kiyotaka nodded. "We're already an open book to each other. That makes it easier to get through this. Plus, I doubt these secrets would be enough that the whole world would turn against us."

"Just out of curiosity," Mondo said, "Who did you see in that motive video?" "My father," Kiyotaka replied, "Even after my grandfather's disgrace of our family, Dad was a major pillar in my life. He was able to keep his job in the police force even after everything, though a few of his colleagues were reluctant to trust him. Hopefully, getting through this sick game with everyone alive will bring some honor back to the Ishimaru name. What about you?"

"A friend of mine from the Crazy Diamonds," Mondo explained, "Takemichi. He was one of the few members who was okay with me taking over for my brother before that fateful race. As such, we've been tight for a while. He's practically my right-hand man. I hope the Diamonds are still together with both of us being absent." Kiyotaka smiled. "I'm sure they are. They're probably waiting for you to escape." Mondo smiled. "Thanks, bro. That means a lot, coming from you."

* * *

Inside her apartment, Komaru was doing her usual daily routine. After a half-hearted attempt at getting someone to open the door and let her out, she sat down to read an old fashion magazine featuring Junko Enoshima. Before long, her breakfast arrived. Despite being upset that it wasn't Japanese style, she sat down to eat. But just as she was getting started, she heard someone fidgeting with the knob to the front door. "Man, this really is locked tight," came a muffled voice. "Maybe we try to contact whoever's in there," came another, much deeper voice.

Gasping, Komaru said, "Could it be...? Has someone come to rescue me!?" She had been locked inside that apartment for a full year, and had all but given up on a rescue. She rushed to the door and started pounding on it. "Please let me out! Open up! I can't live like this anymore..." The lighter voice replied, "Then you might want to stand back. Henshin!" "Huh?," Komaru asked, confused, "Henshin?" _**"Taka! Tora! Batta! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ Quickly hearing this, Komaru quickly back up. A second later, large yellow claws burst through the door, tearing it off its hinges.

Komaru gasped when she saw the armored figure that came through. "No way! You're Kamen Rider OOO! From the gossip columns! I can't believe you're real!" "Believe it," OOO replied, "And yes, I am here to save you. Komaru Naegi, right?" Komaru nodded. "I was told your parents were saved from Foundation X attackers by a friend of mine," OOO noted. "Yeah. Akira Date," Komaru replied, "My big brother's trainer, though he never said what the training was for. Oh, speaking of which, where is Makoto? I haven't gotten any news about the outside."

"He's currently trapped inside his own shelter," said the other man, Kyosuke, "He and his classmates are being forced to participate in a Killing Game, though luckily no one has died yet." OOO canceled his transformation, reverting back to Hajime. "I'm Hajime Hinata, this is Kyosuke Munakata. Do you know if anyone else was being held captive here?" "I'm not sure," Komaru said sadly, "I was rendered unconscious after being kidnapped. When I next woke up I was already locked in here. I haven't had contact with the outside world for a whole year. It got pretty boring."

"So much for leads on the other captives," Kyosuke said, "We'll need to start from scratch." "Right now Izuru has given up on his first motive," Hajime noted, "He's moved on to threatening to reveal the worst secrets of the 78th class to the outside world if a murder doesn't happen. And we have twenty-four hours. I'm hoping nothing comes of it. After all, most of the secrets are more embarrassing than anything." Kyosuke nodded. "For now we'll take Komaru to our base. We can talk about getting her to safety at Future Foundation HQ at a later time."

* * *

Komaru was amazed to see the giant base floating above the ground. It had been built by a group of heroes from the recent past, but was currently empty as they were busy helping another Kamen Rider fight Foundation X elsewhere in the world. In fact with the exception of the sixteen Riders currently using it, all the Kamen Riders that had ever existed were fighting across the planet. "This is amazing," Komaru said. Hajime approached Yuto, who was looking over a series of charts. "Have we located Yasuke yet?"

"There's good news and bad news," Yuto replied, "Good news is I was able to locate Yasuke with relative ease. He kept the tracker on his Driver active whenever possible so locating it was simple. The bad news is that getting to him will be tricky. Seems we're not the only thing flying the skies around Towa City." He brought up a picture of a large airship. "There's reason to believe several people are being held on this ship for some as yet unknown purpose. Yasuke is being kept in a high-security wing, likely because of his powers."

"If he still has his Driver," Hajime said, "It's likely because he was able to hide in the subspace pocket Taro helped us develop to keep our Drivers close at hand at all times. Hiding them in fanny packs like we used to just won't cut it in these times. So, how can we get up to where he is." Yuto checked the city for options. "The industrial sector of the city has a few transport helicopters we can borrow. The airship has the Towa City mark on it, so if we come in like we're bringing new supplies, they'll let us on no question."

"We'll still need the Sonic System to make it all work," Kyosuke noted, "And we have yet to find a suitable volunteer." "What's this Sonic System?," Komaru asked. "It's a new Kamen Rider system," Kyosuke explained, "Developed to help operations here in Towa City." Komaru thought for a moment, then stepped forward. "I'm not entirely sure what's happening, but my brother is working with you guys, right? I feel like, if I don't do something to help, I can't really call myself his sister." The three Riders looked at each other. Hajime smiled. "Alright then. But you'll need to get some quick training in so you can handle being a Kamen Rider."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Phantoms had gone into the next set of escape rooms. Oracle was already getting ready to cut the feed for when Monokuma planned on revealing everyone's secrets. The start of the room had one person locked in a chair at a table in the middle of a Chinese-style restaurant, while two others were blindfolded and had there arms strapped to bamboo shoots, their back to the one at the table, while their faces were to a maze that the person at the table had to guide them through, with no help from the fourth person. The exit to the maze was a large hole in the center.

It was tricky, but once a person got one arm free they were able to pull their blindfold off, making it easier. Once both players were out, they discovered the keys two their own bindings were on the other maze runner's bamboo poles at the very end. Luckily, the key to the cuffs keeping the player at the table bound were right at the table, allowing that person to help free the other two. Once that was done, it was discovered the maze layout itself held the first code in bold black lining, the two players originally locked in it having blocked this from view until free.

This opened one lock and the clue drawer, which held a small spice container that was meant to be emptied out into a cooking pot in the room. However, the pot was locked, and the key was meant to be on something could fold, according to the clue given. This seemed to refer to a folding screen in the room. Sure enough, when folded a certain way, the symbols would spell "castle" in English, which pointed to a castle in the nearby fish tank. Under it was the key to the pot in the shape of a pot handle.

When the contents of the spice container were poured into the pot and stirred, it cleaned up the gunk on the bottom, revealing the next code. The clue drawer then held a bus tray with place settings, a diagram for the place settings, and flowers that were meant to go into some vases with three gold lines on them. Each vase had the liquid inside come up to a specific line. Near them were wall scrolls with picture of flowers on them. Behind the scrolls were gold lines.

This lead the groups to realize that the vases had to go with each scroll, which would indicate how far out each scroll was meant to be rolled according to the gold lines. When done properly, the number of flowers visible would indicate the next code. As to where to place each flower, that was what the diagram was for. The next clue had menus and seven tangram puzzle pieces. The clue suggested looking to the special of the day, and the menu said that the special was its own worst enemy.

Given several of the items on the menu referred to animals from the Chinese Zodiac, and such a Zodiac was printed on the wall, this lead the players to scrutinize it. This lead them to the boar, which according to fortune was to avoid other boars. When the tangram was assembled as shown on the Zodiac chart, it revealed a large triangular piece with holes in it. The other thing in the room that held a Zodiac was a large wheel. When the boar was matched with itself, the piece could be placed on top to reveal the next code.

The final clue was a giant fortune cookie. Instead of a paper fortune, inside was a dial to a dimmer switch. When the dial was installed onto the switch in the room and turned, it lt up several paper lanterns with colored dragons on them. Around the room were the pieces that matched said dragons. When the pieces were assembled according to the diagrams and placed next to the proper one, it lit up a firework in the center table, the heat causing the lamp above it to reveal final code on a paper scroll.

This time it was the boys who were able to get out first, letting the girls out shortly after. "Task completed, Oracle," Fox called. 'And just in time,' Oracle replied, 'Monokuma is getting ready to broadcast the secrets, since none of the students are taking the bait. Just a few seconds, and... Done. Now no one outside the academy will be hearing this.' "Normally we wouldn't go this far," Church noted, "But since Oracle mentioned what Rider's secret is supposed to be, we had no choice."

* * *

Inside her secret chamber within the school, Izuru frowned as she was forced to unlock the next floor. She couldn't see into the escape rooms, there were no cameras in there, but she could tell when someone was using them and how close they were to getting out. She cursed her lack of foresight, as it was preventing her from getting enough information to make any sort of accurate analysis of who might have infiltrated the academy. She looked over the secrets she was due to expose and a thought occurred to her when she got to Kyoko. _'Could the Phantoms be involved somehow?'_

* * *

Komaru was driven out to the industrial center, several Riders like Core and OOO coming with her. 'You remember how to operate the system?,' Yuto asked, 'Miu assured me it was designed to be literally fool-proof. Just remember to follow the directional arrows. The rest is how we practiced.' Komaru nodded, then grabbed the Driver by it's handle and pulled the trigger. "Henshin!" _**"Drill Form! Break!"**_ Komaru was surrounded by sound waves which manifested into a suit with a white base, covered in yellow and blue highlights. Emboldened by the new suit and feeling of power, Komaru did a quick pose. "Kamen Rider Sonic! Moving at the speed of sound!"

Several robots bearing the mark of Foundation X were around the industrial area, but Sonic's new enhanced speed and sound-based projectiles proved effective, as they could hack the robots and force them to self-destruct. Each new form also had its own special skill. The Drill Form, for example, was able to tunnel through the ground at high speed, giving Sonic great maneuverability. Before long, Sonic found herself getting into the swing of things. "I think I've got this. It's like second-nature now."

Meanwhile Fumiko had heard the blaring warning lights and went to see what was causing the commotion. Seeing the new Kamen Rider, she was confused but decided to take action. Grabbing her tablet, she announced, "Activate, Iron Robo!" Sonic turned her head as a giant lump of iron was spewed from one of the factory towers and landed in front of her, configuring into a humanoid form. **"Intruder identified! Eliminate! Eliminate!"**

Sonic easily countered the Robo's attacks, striking back with few blows of her own. "So it's made from iron," she noted, "Time to try another form." She unclipped a cartridge from her belt and replaced the one in her Driver with it, then pulled the trigger. _**"Burst Form! Burn!"**_ The suit was changed to red highlights with the new form. Sonic fired off several sonic shots that forced the Robo to overheat, causing its iron body to start melting from the heat. It tried to counter, but the Burst form allowed Sonic to launch herself into the air with a burst of flame, allowing her to strike back easily.

Once the creature looked to be on its last legs, Sonic pulled the trigger on her Driver a second time. _**"Link Ready!"**_ Fire formed in Sonic's fist. As she thrust her arm out to punch, she called out, "Blazing Cannon!" The fiery fist easily smashed through the Robo, and Sonic turned around as the robot exploded behind her. "Not bad for a first fight," she said aloud. 'Nice job Sonic,' OOO said over the communicator, 'We have the helicopter. Hop on board, we need your powers to fool the airships systems.' Sonic nodded, hoping this path would lead to her being reunited with her brother.

To be continued...

 **Yeah, Komaru is a protagonist too, so I had to include her. If you're wondering why Shuichi has yet to become a Kamen Rider... Oh, I have plans for that, but not in this story. As for the floating base, it's tied to another Kamen Rider crossover I had planned. I may start writing that story soon, but may not post it for a while. As for this story, we have more excitement coming up, and we'll really start messing with Izuru. Something I will say. Hajime as Izuru was a master of all trades, but Sato as Izuru is merely a jack of all trades. Read and review.**


	51. Chapter 51: Generation Legend

**So, one of my viewers pointed out that this story has fifty chapters up to this point. I believe this is actually my first story to hit fifty chapters. Huh... I've come a long way since "If This Be Godhood", my first story on this site. Well, that's neither here nor there. This chapter we'll really be messing with the bad guys, thanks to a special ability the Phantoms have access to. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 51: Legend, Assault, and the Phantom Thieves

'And you're sure the Phantoms are the ones trying to save the students?,' Fumiko said to Izuru. "It's the only conclusion I can reach logically," Izuru replied, "While I still have yet to determine how they cut the video feed temporarily, they are only ones who are likely to do so. As the 78th has surmised, their secrets are not terrible enough to turn the world against them, not when the world as it stands is in total chaos. But Kyoko's secret, that she's a part of the Phantoms' inner circle, would certainly move the Phantoms to cut the feed as soon as possible to protect her identity."

'And attempting a second reading will just hasten their actions,' Fumiko noted, 'Their taking their time because they believe they can afford to. If we take away that belief...' She stopped for a moment. 'I just thought of something. The Kamen Riders, or at least those that aren't detained for one reason or another, are heading for Monaca's sky fortress. If the Phantoms really are the ones trying to release the students...' "It's pointless to try luring them away," Izuru said, cutting Fumiko off, "They're sealed in the school until the challenge is completed." 'All the better,' Fumiko replied, 'I can have a unit advance on Towa City to start planting our forces there.'

* * *

Inside the waiting area between the escape rooms, Skull started to grumble. "I'm getting a little hungry. Hey, Joker, how about we hit the bar?" "One moment," Joker said, "Oracle's coming in." Sure enough, the nearby vent opened up to reveal Oracle slipping through it. "So far no one knows we're the ones helping out back here. But Izuru is starting to suspect. She and her colleagues in Foundation X are attempting to move units into Towa City." "Then we have all the more reason to head for the Velvet Room!," Skull noted, "We can grab a quick bite, redirect the door to Towa City, then reverse the process with no one the wiser! We'll even surprise this Kama-character behind Monokuma!"

Oracle laughed, causing Fox's eye to twitch. "Why is it you're annoyed when I do puns, but laugh at Skull's?" "Because Skull is actually a funny guy," Mona quipped, "And he's clever with his puns, and also doesn't force them." The others shrugged as they entered the hidden door to the Velvet Room. After the defeat of Yaldabaoth, the Velvet Room had changed form. Instead of the prison it had once been, it was now a lavish bar, Igor sitting at a large table drinking coffee. Lavenza was joined by her two sisters, Margaret and Elizabeth.

"Some thing quick before heading to your next caper?," Lavenza asked. "Just some light cakes," Panther agreed, "There's an attack happening in Towa City right now." Igor nodded. "So I noticed. The televisions in here are tuned in throughout the world, and thanks to my master I can view with an unbiased eye. I must admit, your plan to through Izuru Kamakura off your scent was most clever. As was the pun." Skull smirked at Fox, who simply sighed. "Seems I can only make art on a canvas." The group laughed as they quickly dug into their snacks. "The door has been shifted to Towa City," Igor noted, "Defeat this threat, and then help the Ultimates continue on their path."

* * *

Fumiko looked on as her forces made ready to enter Towa City's urban region. Just as the robotic forces neared the edge of the city, they were attacked by gunfire. "What?," Fumiko called out in disbelief, as the gunfire was enough to damage the machines. From a nearby rooftop, nine familiar figures were standing, their backs to the enemy. One by one they turned around. "Phantom Lady... Noir!" "Phantom Hacker... Oracle!" "Phantom Analyst... Queen!" "Phantom Artist... Fox!" "Phantom Actress... Panther!" "Phantom Striker... Skull!" "Phantom Technician... Mona!" "Phantom Smuggler... Church!" "Phantom Leader... Joker!"

The group leapt down and spoke as one. "We are the river in a dry land! The last ace in a lost hand! The heartbeat for a tin man! We are the Phantoms! And no one escapes our sight! Watch out, you'll never see us coming!" And with that, they seemed to disappear, even from Fumiko's scanners. For a brief instant, it seemed as though they had faded into various forms of shadow, light, wind, lightning, fire, ice, energy, data, and sight. Out of nowhere the robots were attacked and dismantled.

"I had thought you were trapped in Hope's Peak Academy," Fumiko said, "I'm not sure how you escaped, but I suppose that's why you're phantom thieves. Luckily, I have just the servant to deal with you. Activate, Justice Robo!" The platform beneath her opened to reveal a Robo that resembled an anime mech. **"Justice will be served! Detain! Detain!"** The Robo rushed over to the Phantoms, who quickly dodged out of the way. Panther extended her hand, an image of her Persona Hecate appearing. "Inferno!"

The Robo was caught in the massive blaze that occurred. "Allow me to cool you off!," Fox called out, his Persona Kamu Susanoo appearing, "Diamond Dust!" The icy assault slowed down the Robo. "Need something to charge your circuits!?," Skull quipped, unveiling his Persona Seiten Taisei, "Thunder Reign!" The electrical assault left the Robo burning, frozen, and shocked to the point it could barely move. Meanwhile, Oracle was observing the battle via her Persona Prometheus. "He's vulnerable Queen! Let 'em have it!" Queen smirked as her Persona Anat appeared. "Atomic Flare!"

The nuclear blast struck the Robo, damaging it tremendously. It was no longer frozen, but was still burned. Mona and Noir came in next, manifesting their Persona, Mercurius and Astarte respectively. "Panta Rhei!" "Psycho Force!" Finally, Church confronted the Robo using her Persona Persephone. "Divine Judgement!" The flash of light seemed to weaken the Justice Robo. "All yours, Joker!" Joker smirked as he calmly stepped forward, the massive form of his Persona, Satanael, looming over the Robo and Fumiko.

The giant Persona seemed to sink into the ground as it and Joker raised their pistols, until both were level with the Robo. "Sinful Shell!" The blast of curse energy tore right through the Robo, causing it blow up. "Justice is not something that should be left in your hands," Joker noted to Fumiko. The Foundation X agent growled as the Phantoms leapt away, stopping on a nearby rooftop just long enough to say, "Adieu." _'Izuru won't like when I tell her this,'_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Using the Velvet Room, the Phantoms snuck back into the escape rooms, this time entering a set of identical bars. Two of the team members were chained to the floor standing near barrels full of peanuts while another was chained to the bar. There was a key floating on the bottom of a pitcher of beer, which was the only thing the player at the bar could reach. However, the pitcher was affixed to the bar so it couldn't be moved. A working tap was near one of the players, and they used it to fill several cups and pass them to the player at the bar, who had to use their teeth to dump the liquid into the pitcher and get the key.

The key only worked for the lock on the bar, and as that player left they found a code to the door on the underside of the exit slab. The key could also be removed to free the other two players. The clue drawer held some green duct tape. There was similar tape on the stacked chairs, which seemed to spell out something. When properly restacked, they spelled "dart" referring to the dartboard in the room. Next to it was a scoreboard with several letters on it.

When counting up the number of bull's-eyes beneath the letters for dart, they revealed the second code. The next clue didn't have any objects, just a reference to Alabama, which pointed to the US state license plates along one wall. Two of them were for Alabama and held clever word play, spelling out LYMYFIRE, or light my fire, and TRNUPHEAT, or turn up heat. This second one referred to the thermostat in the room, which turned on a black light when turned up.

Taking the light my fire reference to mean a poster for whiskey fire, the group put the poster under the light, reveling the words "kick the legs". In the room was a drum set, the bass drum having a picture of female legs and the words "sexy legs". When kicked, it was clear something was inside. The bass drum was broken open, revealing a list of songs that correlated to songs found on the jukebox in the room, the order of which revealed the next clue as the songs were numbered.

The clue was a cue ball, a role of ten dollars in quarters, and cue chalk. This pointed to the pool table in the middle of the room. The pool cue and the balls seemed to move about the table oddly. Using the chalk on the table, it revealed a hidden message. Several colors, pointing to the numbers of the solid pool balls. When the numbers were placed in order of the colors as read normally, it revealed the next code. The clue drawer now revealed a bottle opener, and a sheet of stickers for beer labels.

The stickers referred to the fridge, which did have a bottle in it on the top shelf. The fridge was locked, but pulling off the stickers indicated revealed holes. Using the pool cues, they started moving the bottle down from one shelf to the next, until it reached a large hole at the bottom. Inside it was a handwritten note, with some of the letters standing out. Put together, they said to hold the note up to a heat lamp. Once done, the letters at the bottom faded, though enough remained to spell out several beers from the taps behind the bar.

When the proper taps were pulled, a shelf above them revealed the final code. Once one of the teams got out, they released the other team. Joker decided to check in with Kyoko. "Rider, how are things going?" 'Smooth sailing at this point,' Kyoko replied, 'I've managed to discover a hidden room inside one of the bathrooms. Chihiro's new AI, Alter Ego, is helping us unlock whatever Monokuma might be up to. As for his latest motive, it was just money. Not Celeste went for it, deciding that ten billion yen wouldn't be needed to buy her dream castle with how fast property worth is dropping.'

* * *

Izuru was now really confused. She was certain that the Phantoms were the ones doing her escape rooms, which she had cleverly crafted to entrap people for a good amount of time at least, yet the fact that Fumiko had spotted them just on the outskirts of Towa City flew in the face of that. Still, she wasn't willing to write off her theory just yet, since the Phantoms did possess supernatural powers. She just wasn't sure how they could use them to escape the loading bay with the escape rooms, battle Fumiko and her Robo, and then return to do the next escape room.

 _'Is it worth provoking them further to try and analyze this?,'_ she wondered to herself. She knew that by now, the Kamen Riders were nearing the flying fortress, no doubt trying to free Den-O and anyone else who may be on board. If she took too long to find the answers she needed, one of her attacks could wind up being answered by the Kamen Riders instead of the Phantoms. Worse still, there were only three more escape rooms. One room would remain closed, unless the people using them wanted to keep the students trapped for their own safety.

But if it was the Phantoms, and they were behind the temporary broadcast cut-off, then there was no doubt they could unlock the final room, one or the other. From there unlocking the front door would be easy. She opened a channel to Fumiko. "The mission here at Hope's Peak is in jeopardy. Towa City must become the sight for a new war. Get in contact with Monaca. We'll need to start early, just in case things start to go wrong." Izuru was suddenly struck by the feeling that Junko's Killing Game could only work with her specific plans, plans that Izuru rejected now that Junko had been cut loose. It seemed that had mistake.

To be continued...

 **Yeah, a lot of Junko's plan had been thrown out by Izuru due to the 78th class being less susceptible to despair thanks to either becoming Kamen Riders or having their despair lessened by the destruction of the Despair monsters they played host to. Though it would be easier if they forgot either their powers or the fact that the world is practically in dystopia. For those wondering where Jin, Kyoko's father, is, I'll get to that in the next chapter. Read and review.**


	52. Chapter 52: All Apologies

**Well, we're into the fourth chapter in the THH arc, and now it's time to start focusing on the Kamen Riders again. You'll notice that last chapter was the first time the Kamen Riders hadn't actually shown up to battle. This was deliberate, as I knew they were too busy heading for the sky fortress. Well, you'll get to see more of them this chapter. Oh, and a few notes about Kamen Rider Sonic. First off, an anonymous reviewer (and I would like to stress that I will NOT ACCEPT ANONYMOS REVIEWS AND ANY ATTEMPS TO POST ANONYMOUSLY, EVEN IF YOU GIVE A NAME, WILL RESULT IN SAID REVIEW GETTING REMOVED SO PLEASE GET AN ACCOUNT ON THIS SITE, IT COSTS NOTHING) seemed to think that her powers were based on Sonic the Hedgehog. While I freely admit to drawing many inspirations from Sonic Forces, Sonic himself is NOT one of them. Komaru is called Kamen Rider Sonic because her powers utilize SONIC WAVES. They also draw more inspiration from the Wispons used by the Avatar character from Forces combined with the Truth Bullets from the Hacking Gun of Ultra Despair Girls (remember in an earlier chapter we saw Miu working on said gun, along with a commission to implement it in a Driver). Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 52: Apologies, Sky Fortress, and Passion

Kyoko groaned as she heard something ringing. She reached for her phone on Makoto's dresser instinctively before remembering their phones had been stolen somehow prior to being trapped in the Killing Game. "Oh, must be the other Phantoms," she muttered, and activated her mask. 'It's Panther,' came the familiar voice, 'We're getting ready to enter the fourth escape room.' "Oh good," Kyoko replied. She yawned. 'You okay?,' Panther asked. "Sorry," Kyoko said, "Monokuma's new motive was that someone was a mole working to keep the game going."

'From what I understand the game's at a standstill,' Panther replied with an amused tone. Kyoko smiled. "His way of trying to maintain that he has full control of the situation, I suppose. I was able to get some considerable information, but one thing I'm concerned about is the disappearance of my father. I hope he's still alive." There was a brief pause. 'Anyway, that still doesn't explain what the yawn was for.' "Some of us were getting stressed," Kyoko explained, "We decided to 'de-stress', if you understand my meaning."

'And who was your partner?,' Panther asked sarcastically, 'As if I didn't know...' Kyoko grinned but didn't say, partly because Panther already figured it out, partly because Makoto shared a first name with Queen and she didn't want any mistaken conclusions, however brief they would be. 'Any other pairings?,' Panther asked, 'The game's host was gracious enough to preserve your privacy for this event, stating that "this isn't a porn video after all".'

Kyoko couldn't help but laugh at that. "Well, Hina and Hiro got together. Byakuya, surprisingly, decided to accept Toko. She fainted dead away." She didn't add in that Syo was included in the deal, resulting in her actually fainting. This was the first time Syo had swapped to Toko via fainting, as she normally did so by sneezing. "Hifumi was shocked to find Celeste willing to lay down with him, and also Leon and Sayaka. Mukuro also convinced Taka to accept her, though we had to do a makeshift wedding since he insisted. She's officially Mukuro Ishimaru now."

Taka, in keeping with his status as the Ultimate Moral Compass, insisted that he couldn't have sex with Mukuro unless they were married. Lacking any authority figure due to their headmaster's absence, Chihiro suggested Alter Ego officiate the ceremony. That was all they really needed, since they weren't short on witnesses with fourteen other students attending. Junko was comically tearing up as her sister found herself a husband.

"None of the others seem in any hurry," Kyoko noted, "Chihiro, despite his cross-dressing, is still attracted to women but none from our class are his type. Mondo already has a girl from the Crazy Diamonds. Junko insists her body is for Yasuke alone, and Sakura still has Kenshiro. Come to think of it, his condition got cured recently, though he needs to work on rebuilding his muscles since he spent so long being sick it emaciated his muscles, which means for the time being Sakura still lays claim to his old title." 'Oh, gotta go,' Panther said, 'We're ready for the next room.'

* * *

Perhaps in a sense of irony, the next escape room was set up like a classroom, with one player strapped to the teacher's desk and two more chained to student desks and wearing backpacks. The one strapped to the teacher's desk could rise to a sitting position but little else, and the student desks were the type that could open. The players at the student desks could move their arms and remove the backpacks, which felt like they had something in them, which turned out to be the locks to their chains as well as the numbers to the first code, though without additional clues they couldn't tell which numbers to put in first..

In addition, the blackboard behind the teacher's desk had the names of planets in the Sol System. Above that was balloons colored and inflated to represent said planets, with keys visible in the balloons for Jupiter and Uranus, as well as one visible inside the balloon meant to represent the sun. Behind the balloons were pins poised to pop them, so all that was needed was to throw whatever was available at the balloons to pop them open and get at the keys, mostly waded paper and rubber bands from the desks they were chained to.

Once the key to the teacher's desk was free, that player popped the other two balloons to free the ones sitting at the student desks. There were no other clues regarding the numbers in the backpacks, but with each backpack only having two number, and only two backpacks, finding the right combination was simple trial and error. The next clue was in the item drawer, which had a mix 'n match game with the phrase "you'll flip your lid" on the cover.

The box itself wouldn't open, which led the players to believe the student desks, all of which had openable lids, were the key, Sure enough, other than the ones the players were chained to at the beginning, all the desks had parts of picture on the, which meant the entire seating arrangement was one giant mix 'n match game. There were only eight such desks, which spelled out a rebus puzzle. The exact order of words wasn't known since only the pictures could be matched up with any degree of certainty, but logical thinking led to the phrase "look for sticky gummy".

As it happened, there was sticky gum on the underside of some of the desks. Matching the colors of the gum with each number revealed numbers when placed with the edges together, and the colors when matched with the original box given to them, revealed the second code. It was tricky to tell if two of the numbers were being read upside-down or not, but with no other clues this was simply down to a little trial and error. The clue drawer opened, revealing three report cards and an extra credit chart.

The first thing that jumped out was that science on all three report cards was straight Fs. This seemed to point to the science fair corner of the room, and the failing report cards were because the students didn't follow directions. There were directions on how to complete science fair projects in the area that were incomplete, a volcano simulation, a cockroach habitat, and a wind tunnel simulation. The pieces to complete the experiments could found around the room.

The model volcano and wind tunnel had balls in them with names on them, while one of the cockroaches in the habitat, which was very real, had a name written on its belly. The four names correlated to names on the extra credit chart, the number of stars from top to bottom revealing the next code. There were only three names, but one name had extra credit in the double digits, accounting for the full code. This lead to the fourth clue, a stack of giant cards with letters in the center, colored triangles on each side. The clue said to hang the cards on the bulletin board.

There were eight such cards, with one already hung up. Using this as a guide, they matched up the colored triangles, but the letters on the cards only had Cs, Ds, and Es. However, this lead the groups to inspect the piano, thinking the letters were a reference to musical keys. Sure enough, the piano had letters over the appropriate key. Played in the order of the cards as properly matched, it played the recognizable tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

As it happened, there was a lamb among the stuffed animals in another corner of the room, inside which was the next code. The clue drawer now held detention slips, chalk, and cleaning wipes. On the slips under punishment, it said the student was to write "I will not misbehave in class" 100 times. Since each of the said misbehaviors was something the groups did in the course of solving the previous four clues, they decided this clue was referencing the chalkboard.

The first thing they did was use the cleaning wipes to remove the writing that was already there. Some of the letters were harder to clean off, which meant they were important. The letters spelled out "push me", and when the blackboard was pushed dozens of colored balls came pouring out. One of the balls was on a string, which revealed a projector screen when pulled on. Soon enough a projector came on, showing a picture of the sun in the Red Giant phase.

One of the red balls that fell had a similar colored balloon in it, which gave instructions to inflate it. When fully inflated, it revealed the final clue. Soon enough both teams were out. "I can't believe those cockroaches were real...," Queen muttered, "I'm glad I wear gloves, or I'd never have touched them." "I'm just surprised Panther and Noir had no trouble with them," Church noted. "I deal with bugs all the time in my horticulture," Noir explained, "A few cockroaches really aren't so scary." "And I'm just not scared of bugs," Panther said, "I've dealt with scarier things than a cockroach in my life."

'I really thought the cockroaches would've stopped you cold,' Monokuma said as he came in, 'And you people are still eager to go through each escape room, not willing to sacrifice either group just to save some kids. There's a number of conclusions I could draw from this, but I don't speculate without evidence. But still, are you sure you should be taking your sweet time? You never know when a murder may happen...' 'He says that,' Oracle chimed in, 'But right now the 78th class is in no hurry to give in to Monokuma's demands.'

* * *

The helicopter the Kamen Rider swiped finally reached the flying fortress. "Split up and search the fortress," Hajime ordered, "Make sure to look for anything that might be a power source first to make it easier. There may be other prisoners here so don't hesitate to free them if you get a chance, but the kidnapping victims we learned about are priority." The others nodded and activated their Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Infinite! Mirror!" "Skull!" "All-Magic!" "Chu!" "Liger Mode!" "Mighty Form!" "Kamen Ride! Decade!" "Style: Avian!" "Drill Form! Break!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_

The Riders headed off into ten different directions. By luck, Sonic wound up getting the path of least resistance, though she did have enemies to deal with. Seeing several doors trying to close on her, she got out another cartridge designed for this sort of work. _**"Hover Form! Move!"**_ Grabbing the sidearm that came with her suit, which allowed longer range, Sonic targeted the control panel for the door high above her. This form also let her blast enemies with a shockwave or sail over their heads.

In a nearby room, Monaca was watching the entire thing happen. She immediately contacted Fumiko. "I know you promised to help me surpass Big Sis Junko now that she now longer believes in despair, but my tenure as the new Ultimate Despair will be pretty short if we can't keep The Tragedy going." 'I already detected what was going on and informed you of it,' Fumiko replied, 'Why didn't you try to repel the craft?' "Oh I did, I did," Monaca retorted, "But they somehow had the ability to mask their signal. By the time we knew they were on the fortress they were already deep inside."

Fumiko sighed. 'Very well. I have one strong Robo on the fortress ready for usage. Activate, Prisoner Robo!' Back with Sonic, she saw a nearby isolated cell burst open, and a humanoid robot with a prison stripe coloring and swinging a ball and chain emerged. **"Enemy Identified! Destroy! Destroy!"** It swung its makeshift flail around trying to hit Sonic, who floated above the fight dropping only to strike the Robo several times. The shockwaves of the Hover mode seemed effective, forcing the Robo to reverse itself leaving it vulnerable from behind.

As the Robo started to stagger from the multiple attacks, Sonic reached for her Driver's trigger. _**"Link Ready!"**_ Sonic was lifted up into the air until she was just over the Robo's head. She then came rushing down in a heel drop kick. "Strato Striker!" Her hell struck the Robo's head and overcharged it, causing it to explode as the energy overwhelmed it. "Hey OOO," Sonic said over the communicator, "Do these monsters or robots or what have you always explode when they die?" 'Quite frequently,' OOO replied, 'Also Skull found the power for the security systems.' In an instant the sirens stopped wailing and multiple doors opened at once. "Cool," Sonic said, "I'm in the prison area so I'll start looking for Den-O." She raced off down the hallway.

To be continued...

 **The Move Truth Bullet is meant to be more utility than anything in Ultra Despair Girls, but I wanted it to have more combat application for Kamen Rider Sonic. Also, sorry for the rant earlier, but I like to be sociable with my reviewers. Especially if they give me a critique, I like to be able to try and justify my decision that they seem to not like. Keep this in mind... Seriously, there's no fee for signing up for a account so just do it. Please don't call me a sell-out... I'm doing this for personal reasons... Read and review.**


	53. Chapter 53: 100 Mile Dash

**One thing I'm grateful for during this story is no one seemed to be complaining about this character or that character being underused. I chalk it up to this essentially being a Kamen Rider story set in the Danganronpa universe, meaning its expected that some characters will be used more than others. That said, it's been a while since I've gotten the chance to showcase Yasuke as Den-O in a fight. Well, as it happens, this story provides me an opportunity to show him kick butt. And against a member of the Warriors of Hope, no less. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 53: 100 Miles, Freedom, and the False Hero

The Phantoms found themselves locked in a garage for the fifth escape room. Two players were tied together with safety harnesses and handcuffs but could otherwise move about freely while a third was locked inside a car but was otherwise unbound. A license plate both inside the car and on its rear fender read "CHAINUP", causing the players to draw their attention to a chain in the room with two keys on it. The coloring matched padlocks both on and in the car, but it was a little out of reach. Luckily, the chain was part of a simple pulley.

Of course, the padlock outside the car wasn't keeping the doors closed, but rather the drop-top of the car which turned out to be a convertible. The second padlock inside the car unlocked a compartment with the trunk-release handle. In addition, the harnesses were easy to undo once the player in the car was freed. Inside the trunk were keys for the handcuffs and the first code. This opened the clue drawer, which held a tire iron. Thinking it must refer to the wheels on the car, a quick inspection proved that one of the tires was indeed flat.

Undoing the tire showed a letter and a directional arrow. In total, there were nine such tires, though only four arrows. Also on the tire rack were areas marked with tape. The letters, when unscrambled, spelled out "spare tire" which led them groups back to the trunk, which held the spare chained down with a special directional lock. The directions of the arrows when the tires were properly placed in the order of the unscrambled phrase led to the right combination. Once unchained, the spare tire held the next code.

This opened the clue drawer, which now held a black light, and a flier for an automotive painting business. A list of services provided by the company, found at the bottom of the flier, had some words bolded. When read out, it provided the riddle "I'm like the night, I'm dark not bright, to find your way, use this light". Taking the hint of the spray paints found in the room, the groups used the black light on the black paint container, which revealed the phrase "black is the new green".

Near the paints was a green car hood, which the groups decided needed to be sprayed with the black paint. It turned out the "paint" was actually a special magnetic nano-particle fluid, which stuck to the hood in such a way that it revealed the next code which was written there using magnets on the underside of the hood. Once again the clue drawer opened, revealing key with the word "tools" written on the key tag. This opened one of the drawers on the tool cabinet which revealed another key that was actually chained to the side.

This key went to another locked drawer, but the chain wasn't as simple as it first appeared, since the tool drawer was also attached to a series of pipes that meant the key had to be slid along the entire length of curving pipes before it could be freed. Naturally there were posts in the way, there had to be in order to keep the simple maze attached to the wall, but luckily there was a cut-out in the ring attached to the chain that was just big enough to allow the ring past the pipes. To make matters more difficult, the only stepladder in the room was bolted down and instructions on the table said they weren't allowed to use it as a makeshift pedestal.

Using a few makeshift tools, such as levels and brooms, they eventually got the key loose. This opened the second locked drawer, which held the fourth code. The clue drawer now held a work order for someone named Hillary Hunter. Judging from the information in the work order, it was in reference to the car that had been in the middle of room the whole time and already played a role in two of the clues. Checking the filing cabinet number that matched the order, they discovered an invoice with the right name in it.

The invoice number referred to a series of keys with numbers on the tags. The matching one was found and placed in the ignition. When turned, the backfire from the muffler created magnetized dust to hit the back wall, which held more hidden magnets that spelled out the final code. 'Nicely done so far,' Oracle said, 'I still can't believe the recent motif information regarding the real headmaster. I need to double-check the outside, see if I can't find Jin Kirigiri. I know he left the school a few days ago under escort to gather more supplies, but I hadn't heard where he wound up.'

* * *

Yasuke was sitting in silence. Despite the fact that Foundation X hadn't found his Driver, he had actually hidden it in his personal subspace pocket, they bound his hands regardless. Which seemed a bit overkill since without his powers he was just a neurologist. And expert neurologist with an Ultimate talent, but a neurologist nonetheless. A man in white, no doubt a Foundation X agent, approached the guard in front of the cell. "Izuru has informed us that the fifth motive had failed. We're ready to move into the sixth motive."

The guard moved to open the cell, but as the door opened the lights went out, and the electronic locks that held Yasuke came undone. "Well well," he said, "Looks like I get the chance to escape." The Foundation X member looked at him, then the guard. "I'll handle this, go and get reinforcements." The guard nodded, then ran off. "You're part of Fumiko's Alphabet Soup, I take it?," Yasuke asked, "I was paying attention." The man smiled. "I am X, the man Fumiko has been grooming to become the next leader of our foundation."

He held out a familiar Driver. "Monaca's friends were useful for perfecting the technology and providing the test data. Thanks to them, we can soon move into mass production. A new army of Rider warriors. It's what our parent organization, Shocker, always wanted." Yasuke raised an eyebrow. "So you guys sprang from Shocker. Consider me shocked." X shrugged, then placed the Driver on. "Henge."

As X transformed, Yasuke smiled, a familiar red streak appearing in his hair as Momotaros entered his mind. "Finally found you, Yasuke," came Momotaros' voice, "Now, where's the... Ah, there it is." Momotaros had found the subspace pocket. _"He has the same Armored Rider powers as Masaru,"_ Yasuke pointed out. X, as Armored Rider Hero, was dumbfounded. "Where were you keeping that Driver?" "That doesn't matter," Momotaros said, "Just wait there... While I show you my awesome transformation." He put the Driver on and hit the red button. Swiping his Rider Pass, he called, "Henshin!" _**"Sword Form!"**_

(Search Danganronpa V3 - Finding Peace Party)

The Plat Form that was Den-O's base appeared on Yasuke before it was fitted with the base Sword Form armor, the peach that was the symbol of Momotaros sliding with the sounds of a train before splitting into the visor. Den-O gave a quick pose while calling out, "Ore, sanjou!" Den-O quickly tackled Hero onto a central platform, then cracked his neck for a bit. "Anything you know about Hero that I should watch out for?," Den-O asked. _"Hero's primary threat is those giant drills,"_ Yasuke explained, _"His specialty seems to be charging with them. Keep in mind the current user is closer to our age."_

Den-O nodded. "It's not often I get to cut loose. Normally Yasuke prefers to take the reigns of Den-O personally. Not unlike the last guy I was partnered with. Then again, you guys do kinda have his girl basically hostage, so I guess he needs the focus." Hero rushed at Den-O and started swinging with his drills, which Den-O countered as he assembled the DenGasher into its sword setting. Once it was assembled, Den-O started using the sword to attack Hero.

 _"He's nothing like the original Hero,"_ Yasuke noted, _"It seems data can only go so far. Daimon might become a better user of the system with time. Of course, we can't afford to give him that time. Speaking of, maybe we should end this."_ "Agreed," Den-O replied, and swiped the Rider Pass a second time. _**"Full Charge!"**_ The blade of the DenGasher separated as Den-O swung it to strike Hero. "Hissatsu! Ore no Hissatsu Waza!" With a mighty slash, he brought the blade down on Hero. "Extreme Slash!"

The attack caused Hero's Driver to spark and explode, reverting the Armored Rider back to X. "Future leader of Foundation X... Yeah, right. Yasuke, we'd better find a way out of... Wherever we are." _"Pretty sure it's some sort of flying vessel, which means we need to find some sort of aircraft or something that will help us land safely. Start by investigating whatever caused the power shortage."_ Den-O nodded, then rushed off, still wondering what could have caused him to lose Yasuke's connection.

To be continued...

 **By the way, this chapter was posted on my birthday, so call it a reverse birthday present from me to you. As for Momotaros' thoughts, I find it likely Foundation X would have studied the Imagin and found ways to block their powers. Next chapter is the finale of the Trigger Happy Havoc arc. Read and review.**


	54. Chapter 54: Ultimate Pain

**This chapter will not only end the Trigger Happy Havoc arc, but also provide some set-up for the Ultra Despair Girls arc. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 54: Ultimates, Riders, and the Final Room

"Is everything set up for the final room?," Joker asked Oracle. 'I'm in place to open whichever both doors so we can save the key for the main school,' Oracle replied, 'Also, I got in contact with Future Foundation. Seems someone informed Mr. Kirigiri of his father's capture, and he left the academy under the pretense of needing to secure more supplies. He's currently under Future Foundation watch looking for Fuhito.' "I remember meeting him once or twice," Queen noted, "I hope he's okay." "Let's get through this last room and then find out," Church told her.

* * *

Meanwhile on the sky fortress, klaxons were going off as OOO tore through the robotic defenses, currently using his Cobra, Gorilla, and Cheetah Medals. "Sonic, can I get a status update." 'Just arrived in the primary cell block,' Sonic replied, 'Looks like Den-O just made a jailbreak. He's likely transformed and fighting to get out.' "Then finding him will be easy," OOO noted. He punched open a nearby door, revealing the outside. He then switched to his red Combo. _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_

OOO flew out the door and started the windows for signs of combat. Sure enough, he soon saw a few areas leaking smoke. "Den-O, do you copy?" 'Glad to see you again, OOO,' came Den-O's voice, 'Seems Foundation X is copying the suits of the Warriors of Hope. Had to deal with one before taking my leave.' OOO paused long enough to strike several flying robots with his Condor talons. "We have a helicopter in the docking bay, Sector 14." 'Haven't had much time to explore this place,' Den-O noted, 'And I doubt I'll get the guided tour now that I'm trying to escape. My Driver's active, so you should be able to lock onto the signal.'

"Got it," OOO replied. As he flew in the direction indicated by the Taka helmet's visor, another helicopter carrying a giant crate appeared. "It took everything we had to capture Yasuke," Fumiko noted, "Including more than a bit of luck. We're not about to let him get away so easily. Activate, Jet Robo!" The container burst open and a humanoid robot with jetplane parts started rushing towards OOO. **"Enemy spotted! Intercept! Intercept!"** OOO dodged the initial attack, then fired a few feather shots to damage the Robo, causing its flight pattern to deviate.

The Robo responded by firing off some missiles, but OOO was able to intercept these using his Taja Spinner. As the Robo started listing, OOO sensed his chance to end it quickly and activated his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ The Robo looked on helplessly as OOO came screaming in, his Condor talons fully extended as he used them to grab the Robo and slam it into the side of the fortress. "Prominence Drop!" The Robo exploded on impact, while OOO used the momentum to crash into the fortress right in front of Den-O.

"I know you're a god and all," Den-O quipped, "But could you maybe find a less flashy way to make an entrance?" "Gotta do something to get people's attention," OOO retorted, "After all, it's been a year and I still don't have a shrine in my honor." The two of them looked at each other and laughed. "Let's get going," OOO said, "You still have yet to meet our newest team member." Den-O crossed his arms. "So you finally found a volunteer for the Sonic System? Awesome. Looking forward to meeting them."

* * *

The Phantoms got started on the final escape room, which resembled a barber shop, three of the players tied down on the chairs, and to each other, with a length of electrical cord and straps, as well as being handcuffed to them. One of the players had the keys to the handcuffs on their part of the cord. They had to find a way to get the key from one side of the rope to the other. Coordination of the spinning chairs was key in order to give the rope enough slack, and the key could only work for the straps.

Once they were free of the cord, and one of them got uncuffed, they soon found a second key for the cuffs. As the players took off their smocks, they found letters on the underside of them, spelling out "lamp". There was only one lamp in the room, and when it was turned on it revealed the first code to the door. The clue drawer held several giant chess pieces and a pamphlet describing the rules of chess. As it happened, the broker checkerboard pattern on the floor included a full-size chessboard, separated from the similar patterns by a border of different-style tiles.

The pamphlet said where to place the pieces, and as it turned out, they bottoms of the pieces were magnetized, able to pull up the tiles in the spots where they were supposed to go. Once all eight tiles were brought up, they revealed the pieces to a simple puzzle containing the riddle "if you do not like the cut you can borrow one of these". The solution was obvious, a hat, and there happened to be a bowler hat on the hatrack in the room. When the hatband was removed, it revealed the second code.

Now the clue drawer held electric hair clippers, and there was a clue regarding a 3:30 appointment. In the room was an appointment book, and looking through it revealed the appointment was for someone named Bob. A quick looked around the room revealed a poster with pictures of various hairstyles, including the buzz cut and bob cut. Among the mannequin heads in the room, one was shown to have a bob cut. Using the electric clippers, the group started shaving the mannequin, revealing the phrase "shag 5".

This lead the teams to believe that the number was the first number in the third code, and shag was in reference to another hairstyle that they needed to shave off. Using the poster as a guide, they got the head for the shag style, then to the mullet style which had two numbers, quickly completing the code. This time the clue said that "it takes a lot of combs to become cool", and there was one comb in the clue drawer. There was a fan in the room, which could be used to become cool, but seemingly no way to reach it.

Taking to heart that the clue also mentioned the combs in the cleaning container, the groups started grabbing all the combs in the room and using whatever they could find that could link them together. This worked to reach the switch to turn on the fan, which immediately dumped off some hundred yen coins. Seeing a gumball machine in the room, the groups dumped the coins into it, purchasing four gumballs that happened to have numbers on them, which revealed the next code.

Inside the clue drawer now was a heavy metal ashtray and a travel poster for Andorra, which resembled some other posters around the room, five in total arranged in a three-by-two grid, with a space missing. As the players placed the poster in the spot, they noticed certain letters were bolded and backwards. Also, the ashtray had the phrase "you'll know when to use me" printed on its bottom. The "when" became obvious when the groups learned the bolded letters spelled out "break the second mirror".

Sure enough, in a recess behind the mirror was the final code. Once Oracle spotted the guys coming out of the escape, she hacked the network of the school and got the girls out as well, then moved to join them. Monokuma came in on the video screen. 'I see the final room has- Wait, why are you already unlocking the door to the school? And why am I registering both final escape rooms as open?' Joker grinned. "Never underestimate the Phantoms."

* * *

The 78th class was relieved to hear that help had arrived to get them out, and Kyoko was grateful that her father was safe. "I managed to get the access code for the front door while we were in there," Oracle said, "And I locked Izuru inside her little command station." Just then, a group of Monokumas started approaching. "There's no way we're letting ourselves get stopped here!," Makoto said, as he, Byakuya, Toko, Kyoko, Aoi, and Yasuhiro got out their Drivers.

"Henshin!" _**"Gashapon Active!" "Fist On!" "Cyclone! Ace!" "Joker!" "Water State!" "Arcana Set!"**_ Explosions were heard throughout the halls, if there had been anyone to hear them, as both the Phantoms and the Riders attacked the army of Monokumas, destroying them as they made for the front door, which was sealed by a large vault door. Oracle activated Prometheus and typed in some commands on her virtual keyboard, which caused the door to open.

* * *

Outside, people who had been watching were surprised. The legendary Phantoms had seemingly shown up out of nowhere just when it looked like Monokuma was preparing to introduce a motive that would guarantee the students would kill each other. With the sudden appearance of the heroic phantom thieves, Monokuma started freaking out and moments later, the door to the front of the school opened wide, revealing the entire 78th class as still alive.

From her command center inside the school, Izuru frowned. A situation that was supposed to perpetuate the cycle of despair that would keep her partners in Foundation X at the top of political game had instead given rise to hope within the populace. She immediately contacted Fumiko. "I need extraction. The Phantoms sealed me inside Hope's Peak Academy. You'll find me in the computer center." 'It was the Phantoms after all?', Fumiko asked in surprise, 'How did they someone get from Hope's Peak Academy all the way to Towa City?'

"That's a question we may never get the answer to," Izuru admitted, "But the fact of the matter is that's who was solving all my escape rooms, as well as planting someone inside the central network center to mess with my program keeping us in control of the Killing Game. It's time to move on to plan B. Is the sky fortress still viable in light of the attack?" 'Luckily the systems are salvageable,' Fumiko confirmed, 'But we'll need to replace units. Shall I get in contact with Monaca then?' Izuru nodded. "Go for it. We need this war..."

To be continued...

 **Since we'll now be getting into the introduction of Future Foundation in this universe, I thought I should mention something. My primary reviewer amosclw wondered how the other members of the 78th class surviving would impact the roster for Future Foundations leaders. This is something to think about, especially since I've already established that they and the Kamen Riders are two separate forces. Luckily I can look up the structure of Future Foundation and make some alterations, which I'll reveal in future chapters. Read and review.**


	55. Chapter 55: Love in Hell

**We're getting started on the Ultra Despair Girls arc. These might be a bit long because more interesting stuff happens. After all, the Warriors of Hope still have yet to understand what they're doing wrong. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 55: Love in Hell, Pyramids, and the Meaning of Hero

With the Kamen Riders once again reunited, they convened on the flying fortress they used for a base. "Word is reaching Future Foundation," Kyosuke said, "Seems the other captives besides Komaru and Yasuke are being held in Towa City. Rather than go in to investigate, Tengan wants us to move in first, just in case its a trap. He's expecting us to be able to break out if that turns out to be the case, plus it means Future Foundation can claim plausible deniability."

"For what?," Komaru asked. "Our intelligence suggests the Warriors of Hope are about to make their move," Makoto explained, "Which entails creating a new war to justify Foundation X's continued hold over the world. If we can diffuse the situation, they start to lose steam." Komaru nodded. After the 78th class was freed from the Killing Game, those that weren't Kamen Riders wound up joining Future Foundation. Even Junko and Mukuro, in a bit of irony.

Komaru for her part was glad to reunite with her brother. Though she did get thrown for a loop when she learned that he'd hooked up with Kyoko. She seemed like such a cool, elegant, and sophisticated beauty that Komaru couldn't believe she was Makoto's type, in fact she was sure Makoto would wind up with Sayaka. "Once our team is in Towa City," Hajime said, "Communication will be limited to just the ground unit. Something is causing radio interference, so keeping Future Foundation updated will be difficult."

"It might not be a bad idea to have all of us go in," Kazuichi noted, "Towa City's a big place, and it could become a labyrinth once things start getting bad." Hajime nodded. "Alright then. Also something to note, the Phantoms are apparently interested in Towa City as well. Likely they intend to make the Warriors of Hope their next targets. Given their history, it might not be a bad idea to side with them, should the option be presented. Toko, can you start at the factory with Komaru? Intel suggests that place is churning about Monokuma robots for some unknown purpose." Toko nodded.

* * *

Fumiko soon got the alert when W and Sonic broke into the arsenal. Sonic showcased an interesting new ability, her Link Mode could synchronize her with other Kamen Riders to give both an increase in speed and strength. Inside, several X bots were guarding the center of the factory. "One electric shock, coming up," Sonic said with a smirk, switch out cartridges. _**"Lightning Mode! Paralyze!"**_ "Don't leave us out," W announced, switching out their Memories. _**"Luna! Metal!"**_

The robots started getting scrapped by the two whips, really one whip with the other being W's Metal Shaft bent using the Luna Memory, as the two Riders moved through the factory. Seeing them approach the center, Fumiko got out her tablet. "Activate, Pharoah Robo!" A giant sarcophagus in front of the factory's reactor opened, revealing a robotic pharaoh. **"Grave robbers will be cursed! Protect! Protect!"** "You ever get the feeling Foundation X isn't taking us seriously?," Sonic asked.

"Hey, after how horrifying the Despairs were, we'll take goofy and ridiculous," W countered. The two ducked and dodged around the Robo as it swung its staff weapons, one a crook while the other was a flail, striking it repeatedly. The Lightning Mode Sonic used could hack into the Robo and cause it to freeze up as if paralyzed. Once it seemed to do so for an extended period, the two female Riders looked to each other and nodded, activating their finishers. _**"Metal! Maximum Drive!" "Link Ready!"**_

W's Metal Shaft created golden rings that spread out before targeting the Robo, while Sonic gave her lightning whip full charge as she swung. "Metal Illusion!" "Return Stroke!" The two attacks struck the Robo, overloading it and causing it to explode. Once they shut down the reactor, they got a call from OOO. 'Get to Towa City proper! A riot just broke out and Monokuma bots are all over the place!'

* * *

Sure enough, the entire city was getting overrun in just a few hours. On the TV screen, the Warriors of Hope were seen playing with a dead news anchor while Monaca announced their intentions of creating a paradise for children. "They don't really believe this, do they?," Komaru asked. "Four of them do," Toko noted, "And none of them are named Monaca. She's just using them to start this war, thinking Future Foundation will get lured in."

"What's the big deal with Future Foundation getting involved?," Komaru asked. "Their reputation isn't the best," Toko explained, "There are some who think Future Foundation started The Tragedy to look good stopping it, that they're somehow a part of Foundation X. If it turns out they got involved in fighting a war rather than stopping it, it'll be just one more nail in the coffin." The two of them were air-dropped onto a local hospital.

"Say Toko," Komaru said, "How does that Rider system you use work? And why does it sound like you have two different voices?" "The W system requires two mind to use properly," Toko explained, "Normally this means one of the two must have access to the power of Gaia, where these Gaia Memories come from. But in my case I can bypass that due to my Dissociative Identity Disorder." "Say what now?," Komaru asked, a little confused.

"Basically it's a split personality," Toko explained, "The other personality being that of a notorious serial killer. You ever heard of Genocide Jack?" Komaru nodded. "Yeah, he was in the papers for a few years." "Well, you're looking at her," Toko said flatly, "Or at least her body. Most times I'm the shut-in author Toko Fukawa, but when I get knocked out or sneeze, I switch to the confident but blood-thirsty Syo Fukawa, alias Genocide Jack. And Syo provides the other mind I need to access the W system, hence the twin voices."

"Oh...," Komaru said, a little surprised, "That's... Yeah. Has being able to talk to your other self done anything for you." Toko thought about it. "Well, maybe a little. I've certainly picked up some of Syo's confidence since we started synchronizing, and she seems to have picked up a bit of empathy. We've always been able to share emotions, though not memories, so this just feels like an extension of that."

As they walked through the hospital, they found their way blocked by a shutter. "Guess we'll need to find the power," Komaru noted. As they searched, several dead bodies could be found, which didn't help Toko since she still had a fear of blood. Once the power was found, Komaru took out her Driver and reconfigured it into its original Hacking Gun form, then fired off a Move bullet to activate it. "I still can't believe how horrible the world's become," Komaru said, "It's like common sense has just been thrown off the atmosphere."

"An odd analogy," Toko noted, "But accurate given the circumstances." Just then, a Monokuma appeared at the end of the hall. "Uh oh, company," Komaru said, and the two girls got out their Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Cyclone! Ace!" "Drill Form! Break!"**_ Sonic managed to plunge her drill weapon right into the Monokuma's left eye, destroying it quickly. "Hey, that jagged eye-thing must be a weak spot." "Good to know," W agreed, "We should aim for it whenever possible."

Navigating the hospital proved difficult since it was so badly damaged. As they moved on, Battalion's voice could be heard over the communicator. 'I found something terrible. Most of the kids wearing those Monokuma masks, they have live bombs strapped to their heads. Those masks are equal parts mind control devices and explosives. I don't know what Monaca is planning, but if even the very kids she says she's helping are expendable, then it can't be good.'

"That explains it," Sonic said. "Explains what?," W asked. "Well, remember during the briefing how most of the Warriors of Hope were making this paradise so no other kid would have to suffer like they did?," Sonic asked, "That didn't make sense to me since it's clear those poor kids who make up the Warriors are in the minority. But if the regular kids are being mind controlled..." "Then they probably don't even realize they're killing their own loving parents using those Monokumas," W realized, "The plot thickens. We need to find a way to get this info to Future Foundation."

Finally, the duo reached the monitoring room on the first floor. Inside, it looked like the backstage of some sort of game show, an arcade cabinet against the far wall. "Come to think about it," W noted, "Those kids were talking about a game called 'Demon Hunting'. Likely it's a children's game version of the Killing Game. Rooms like this must be part of the game." "Speaking of," Sonic said, "We should keep an eye out for any sign of the other captives while we're here. I hope they're still alive."

Sonic switch cartridges. _**"Hover Form! Move!"**_ Using her Hover form, Sonic struck the arcade cabinet, and revealed that it was hooked up to the nearby surveillance camera. The game seemed to have a specific rule, to not get caught. The layout seemed to provide a way to do that. The two girls canceled their transformations, then carefully snuck out using the path they noticed.

Outside the streets were empty, giving the girls a chance to talk strategy. "So," Toko said, "Given how childish the Warriors of Hope seem to be, I'd wager they'll send Masaru in first, even though he's the apparent leader of the team." "I thought that was Monaca," Komaru said, confused. "You know it, I know it," Toko explained, "But try telling Masaru that. Now let's see, where's that file on him? It might be best if we get to know our enemy so as to better fight him."

She found the file in question on her phone. "Masaru Daimon, the Li'l Ultimate PE. It says here he lived with an alcoholic father who was verbally and physically abuse him." "That's horrible," Komaru said. "Oh, it gets better," Toko replied sarcastically, "These abuses were for the smallest of reasons, like if Masaru would cough when the old man was smoking. To make matters worse, he thought he was, and I quote 'teaching him manners'."

She shuddered. "Plus, Daimon senior would actually send Masaru out to but beer for him." "There's no way they'd sell booze to a little kid," Komaru noted. Toko nodded. "So poor Masaru was forced to resort to thievery to please his father. And whenever he got caught, 'daddy dearest' would get angry for being humiliated and looking bad in the eyes of the police." "He _was_ bad!," Komaru said angrily, "However terrible Masaru might be to other adults, whatever he did to his father may well have been justified!"

"That's not the end of it," Toko said, "There's the psychological impact this had on Masaru. Masaru forced a smile whenever his father beat, but this only made things worse as his father saw him as abnormal. And due to his upbringing, he came to believe that everything was his fault and he was making his father look like the bad guy, nevermind the fact that he kinda was. Masaru was even worried that his father might leave him. And then came the incident with Junko during her brainwashed phase."

"Hajime said Masaru has an obsession with being the hero," Komaru noted, "He has a very skewed idea of what a hero is like, believing its all about the praise and not having any fear." Toko nodded. "To his credit, he takes being a hero very seriously. If he knew what being a hero was really like I'd imagine he'd make a great one. But he's too immature to understand his short-comings."

As they moved on, the had to transform again since more Monokumas were about. Along the way, Sonic spotted a bridge. "Hey, W, do you think anyone trying to escape might try the bridge?" "It's as good a place as any to start looking," W agreed. They cut through a construction yard, only to be met by Bomber Monokumas. Luckily, their suits were largely blast-proof. "Guess Foundation X is trying to use tactics with these killer teddies," W noted. At the end of the construction site was a dead end, the only way through being a nearby hotel.

"Battalion called it," Sonic realized, "This place is like a maze." The hotel looked just as beaten up as the hospital, plus many of the doors were all boarded up. "A lot of this looks deliberate," Sonic noted, "Like they wanted to herd victims." "I think that might be it exactly," W agreed, "Monaca made sure the city would be destroyed in such a way that the Demon Hunting could go smoothly. It's horrible to look at. We managed to get through the Killing Game without a single casualty, but in this sort of game corpses are unavoidable."

Finding an open room, the girls decided to rest. "By the way," Toko asked as they canceled their transformations, "What's with the high school uniform? Given how you were kidnapped I didn't think you'd gotten into high school." "It was given to me just a few days before Hajime and Kyosuke rescued me," Komaru explained. She then became very excited. "It's from the prestigious St. Koa Girls Academy!"

She ranted on for a bit about how exciting the school was, but Toko cut her off. "Hate to ruin your fantasy, but if even Hope's Peak Academy, the number one most prestigious high school in the world mind you, doesn't have a buffet style cafeteria than that's clearly just a delusional fantasy." "Sorry, I got carried away," Komaru admitted, "But when my brother got lucky enough to be accepted into Hope's Peak due to the annual lottery, I've found myself dreaming what sort of fantasy school life he must be living."

"Given what we've been through so far," Toko noted, "I'd say a hero fantasy. I mean, other than the large amount of ultimate talents in the school the curriculum is pretty standard. Though... It's also optional." "What do you mean?," Komaru asked. "We were only required to develope our talents and pass the practical exams," Toko explained, "So long as we did that, graduation was guaranteed. Me and my classmates still took the curriculum regardless, especially Makoto since he figured he'd need it given his talent was just luck."

"Huh," Komaru said, "Sounds like Hope's Peak was more like an experiment in human development." "It didn't used to be," Toko assured her, "Long before my time there, the school was genuinely meant to nurture Ultimates and gude them in progressing society. It's just the steering committee that worked behind the scenes couldn't accept that their founder wasn't immortal. They tried something called the Kamakura Project in an effort to bring him back. I somehow doubt they were truly successful."

The transformed again and continued on, stopping at the elevators because they spotted some sort of card. On it was a man who looked like an older Kiyotaka. "The card says his name is Takaaki Ishimaru," W noted, "Then this must be Taka's father. There's a clear family resemblance." "If this card is still around," Sonic said, "Do you think there's a chance this man is still alive?" "Probably," W admitted, "If those kids were still carrying it with them. Plus it says Ishimaru can be found at the Science Memorial Hall, and this is the hotel. I'd wager one of those kids just dropped it accidentally."

Further into the hotel, they came across a game room where a Bomber Monokuma was walking back and forth, a group of regular Monokumas at the far wall. "If we hit the bomb one at just the right time," Sonic noted, "We can take out the others no problem." They waited until the Bomber was between the other Monokumas, then Sonic knocked it down with her sidearm, the resulting explosion clearing the group and unsealing the door.

Past that was the lobby area of the hotel and a door leading out, but a Monokuma Kid was blocking the way. He handed Sonic a challenge in the form of a riddle. "If you want to know the password, try asking the upside-down bird," Sonic read. Next to the kid was a laptop wired into the doors, meaning they were likely to be locked. "The answer's likely to be somewhere in this room," W noted, "It does look like the sofas have been rearranged, and I think I see another of those arcade machines behind the reception desk over there."

Sonic hacked the cabinet, which showed a bird's eye view of the lobby, and the word "hell" spelled out in English, though oddly the H was small-case while the other three were upper-case. "This must have something to do with the riddle," Sonic realized, "It said ask the upside-down bird, and we're seeing a bird's-eye view of the lobby. So instead of letters, these must be numbers." She walked over to the laptop and tried 7734 for the password, which worked.

Soon after they reached the bridge itself. "It doesn't look like anyone's here," Sonic noted. "Let's look around anyway," W said, "We need to make sure this bridge can be used to escape at a later time." As they carefully made their way out onto the bridge, they heard someone call out from behind them. "Hey! Wait up!" They turned to see a dark skinned young man about Komaru's age approach. He stopped right in front of them and W noticed something. "He looks a little like Hina. Oh, you must be Yuta Asahina."

"Huh?," Yuta asked, "How did you know my name?" The two girls canceled their transformation, surprising Yuta. "Oh wow, I didn't Kamen Riders were human! And one's of them's a cute girl my own age..." Komaru found herself blushing. "Anyway," Toko said, ignoring him, "I'm a friend and classmate of your sister. We came to this city hoping to rescue you and others being held captive."

"Oh yeah," Yuta realized, "Those crazy kids. They strapped this on me and set me loose in the city." He showed them a black bracelet with a symbol that looked like Monokuma's left eye. "Kazuichi told us about these," Toko said, "They'll explode if they're tampered with, or whoever wears one tries to leave the city. A little way of keeping the participants of the Demon Hunting in the city." Yuta gulped. "Yeah, that white-haired servant of there's told me as much. Those weird kids didn't seem to want to, though."

Just then, the bridge started shaking. "Uh oh," Komaru said, "Looks like those bracelets aren't the only things keeping people in the city!" She and Toko grabbed their Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Drill Form! Break!" "Cyclone! Ace!"**_ Sonic grabbed Yuta and she and W raced back to the city, taking out Monokumas along the way. Once they got back, they saw the bridge collapse. "So much for that escape," Sonic said sadly. "Darn," Yuta cursed, "If not for this bracelet, I could probably swim across to the other side."

"Oh, you swim too?," W asked. "Well, I'm not as good as Hina," Yuta admitted, "I'm more into track and field. But I am pretty good at swimming too." "For now let's see if we can find a safe area to leave Yuta while we keep investigating the city," Sonic suggested, "Considering we'll be fighting quite a bit in the meantime, we'd only be putting him in danger otherwise." "I can stay outta trouble until then," Yuta assured them, "If my sister is here, then I need to live long enough to see her again."

"Good," W said, satisfied, "So, what's our next move?" "We need to get somewhere we can move about without being seen," Sonic suggested, "Let's check in the subway. It runs throughout the city, so we may be able to use it conduct our search with minimal issues." W nodded. "Worth a shot." As they headed back into the city, Sonic spotted what looked like a siren light on top of a building, and had Yuta hang back. This turned out to be a good idea, since the light belonged to a new enemy called the Siren Monokuma, which could summon more Monokumas in the area to attack.

"I think it's time to try a new cartridge," Sonic suggested, and got out the new item in question, loading it into her Driver. _**"Asteroid Form! Dance!"**_ She aimed her sidearm at the Siren Monokuma and fired, causing it's light to act differently and draw the other Monokumas to it, leaving vulnerable to W's attacks. "Nice," W said, "We do seem to make a good team." Just past where the enemies had been was another game room. "I've seen these around everywhere," Yuta noted, "They're kind of annoying to get through."

"I think we can handle it," Sonic assured him, "Let's see what this room needs." She applied her Hover Form to the arcade cabinet, noting the Siren Monokuma in front of an electric car. "Those cars be hacked by my Driver," Sonic noted, "But so can the Monokumas. Were they also manufactured by the Towa Group?" "They were originally mean to be a company mascot," W admitted, "Their exoskeleton was developed by Miu Iruma, one of the participants of the Gifted Inmates program. The AI is based off one Chihiro developed, as well."

Sonic snuck into the room and blasted the Siren Monokuma with her sidearm before swapping cartridges. _**"Hover Form! Move!"**_ With the Monokumas gathered in front of the car, they were sitting ducks as it came barreling at them thanks to Sonic's hacking. Further ahead, they finally found some entrances to the subway, but one was blocked by rubble while the other was blocked by a shutter. "This one's locked," W noted, "There must a key somewhere nearby."

"Found it!," Yuta announced. But before he could hand it over, another kid ran up to him and swiped it. "Huh?," he said, confused, "Hey! Give that back!" They chased the kid to the nearby construction site. "Stay a bit behind us, Yuta," W instructed, "A place like this, those Monokumas could pop out anywhere." Nearby was a game room, which showed several Monokumas pacing back and forth, one of which was a Bomber. Behind them was a stationary Siren Monokuma.

"I think I got this," Sonic said confidently. She waited until she had a clear shot at the Siren then hit it with the Asteroid shot, then used the Drill shot to take out the Bomber which destroyed the entire group. They searched the area behind the game room after it was cleared, but the only sign of the kid was a piece of paper with a challenge to meet at the hospital. "Damn it!," W cursed, "He must've use the time we spent clearing the game room to escape out the door we passed."

They made their way back to the hospital, having to take a different route due to the change in layout. When they finally got back, they spotted the kid heading down a hallway. They followed him to an operating room at a dead end in the hallway. "This could be a trap," Sonic noted, "Yuta, stay out here." Yuta nodded. Sure enough, once Sonic and W were inside the door locked behind them. Then from out of one of the cabinets popped a hideous Junk Monokuma.

"This would be a lot creepier if we were in a horror game," Sonic noted. "It's plenty creepy as is," W countered. The junk robot was a little tougher than the regular Monokumas, but it was still one against two and it wound up destroyed quickly. The door then unlocked and opened, causing Yuta to stumble inside. "I was worried when I heard the door lock," he explained, "I saw that kid standing in the hallway where we came in from, holding some kind of remote."

Sure enough, the kid was still there, the remote being tucked into his pocket. He ran off and made the trio chase him. Out on the roof, Sonic found another of the "hit lists" dropped by the kids, picturing a young man with white hair and pale skin named Takemichi Yukimaru. "Is this the guy who put the bracelet on you?," Sonic asked. "No," Yuta replied, "That guy had much spikier hair." "Somehow I doubt they'd let one of their precious captives be a servant anyway," W noted, "If I'm not mistaken, this guy is part of Mondo's biker gang."

The trio headed back to the second floor and finally cornered the kid in the director's room, where he had a challenge for them. Sonic read the challenge note. "The key is inside this safe. It won't open if you force it, so don't bother trying. If you want to open the safe, you gotta solve my best riddle. The reason you can't see the answer is because you aren't thinking like a detective." Sonic pondered on those last words. "Like a detective, huh...?"

She got out another cartridge and loaded it, pulling the trigger on her Driver. _**"Void Form! Detect!"**_ On the safe was a crudely drawn picture of eyebrows, a wig, a beard, and glasses, likely representing the numbers one through four. Sonic swept the Void's detection ray over the nearby pictures, which were painted with a special invisible paint that the Void form could pick up. The pictures, in order from left to right, had a beard, eyebrows, glasses, and wig. And beneath each was a number representing what order they were director of the hospital. From this, Sonic got an idea what the combination was. "W, try 2143."

W nodded and typed the number into the laptop hooked up to the safe. Sure enough, the safe opened, startling the kid. Yuta then grabbed the subway key. On the way back to the subway, another game room was set up through a quick shortcut. Inside, several Monokumas were behind a parked car. A Bomber was standing in the middle of the lot, and a Siren walked back and forth between it and the car.

Sonic made careful use of the barricades to get into a position to hack the car and get it out of the way before using the Asteroid shot on the Siren to draw in the others, then Drill to cause the Bomber to explode and destroy the entire group. Once the way was clear, they returned to the subway only to be surprised to see OOO there. "I was wondering if anyone else was in the area," he said, "I see you found another captive." "And evidence that at least two others may still be alive," Sonic replied.

OOO nodded. "I'm sensing Masaru's desires inside that door. He may be lying in wait for someone. I've no idea if he still has his Driver to become Armored Rider Hero, but he does have his battle mech, the Mark Guyver." "Then we definitely can't take Yuta down there," W realized. "I'll deal with Masaru," OOO said, "See if you can clear away the rubble from the other entrance. If I get back up before you finish I'll lend a hand." The two Riders nodded as OOO took the key and walked into the entrance.

* * *

As OOO walked into through the darkness, suddenly the lights came on, a cheering crowd surrounded an arena. "Welcome!," came Masaru's voice, "To the Killosseum! Here we stand, hero versus false hero!" "Too true," OOO admitted, "But the false hero may not be who you'd like it to be. Masaru, I know all about your past. It was truly horrible, and your father deserved the fate you dealt him. But tell me, what of the rest of these children?"

"What are you talking about?," Masaru asked, "They all agreed to be part of our utopia. To remove all the Demons from this city." "And did they do that before you placed the helmets on them?," OOO asked, shrugging. Masaru looked confused, which OOO capitalized on. "Have you never wondered why you and your fellow Warriors are the only ones who don't wear those helmets? Why only you five can control the Monokumas while the other kids just sit by and cheer them on?"

Masaru was stunned by these questions as the kids in the arena stopped cheering. Suddenly, he felt his arm start to tremble. He turned around and laid his hand on the floor. "Let it tremble," OOO reprimanded him, "A true hero isn't one who has no fear, but rather shows no fear. You must accept your fears and rise above them, for abandoning your fears is true cowardice." Masaru turned to look at him. In that moment, OOO really did seem like a god. Gritting his teeth, Masaru stood back up, and raised his trembling hand, yelling at the top of his lungs.

Once again the kids started cheering, tossing him the controller for his robot. The giant Mark Guyver appeared as Masaru hit the switch. "There we go, Masaru!," OOO said proudly, "This is how a real fight between heroes begins!" He grabbed his O Scanner and swapped to the green Medals. _**"Kuwagata! Kamakiri! Batta! Ga~ta-Gata-Gata-Kiri, Ba! Gatakiriba!"**_ OOO split in multiple forms and attacked the giant robot from all sides.

Masaru tried to keep up, a little easier since he had an outsider perspective, but it was clear his Mark Guyver was getting overwhelmed. As the robot started sparking, OOO swiped his O Scanner along with the rest of his copies. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Gatakiriba Kick!" OOO aimed for an electrical circuit that Battalion pointed out when he found the blueprints for the robots, instead of the weak spot that was meant to be hit. The component set off a massive electrical discharge due to all the power it was supplying the Mark Guyver, causing an EMP-like effect.

The result caused the masks of the kids to come off on their own, without blowing up. Masaru dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his cheek as he heard the confused crying of the kids he thought he was leading. OOO walked up to him, canceling his transformation as he did. "Masaru," Hajime said, "You have the potential to a great hero and leader. But neither is meant to foster their ideals on others. Rather, they are meant to protect other people's ideals." He offered Masaru his hand. For the first time since he could remember, Masaru found himself breaking down sobbing like the child he really was.

* * *

One thing that was working regardless of the jamming signal was the transport units that could be called in from the sky fortress at any time. Masaru was placed on one of these and brought into protective custody, since he noted the others would likely give him up for dead, likely at Monaca's insistence. Meanwhile, W had managed to blast away the rubble blocking the other subway entrance. "I'll sweep around elsewhere," OOO said, "W, Sonic, there's rumors of an underground resistance made of adults. Try and find it, then let the rest of us know when you do. We can leave Yuta there while we continue our investigation." The two Riders nodded, and headed down with Yuta into the subway.

To be continued...

 **Certainly been a few days since I updated. Not as long as usual but I have another project on fimfiction that I wanted to attend to. Glad to get this arc started at least. Hope you guys like this one, and are looking forward to more ship teasing with Komaru and Yuta. Read and review.**


	56. Chapter 56: Legend of the Revolution

**Apparently my decision to have Hajime do the Ultra Despair Girls bosses was well received. He is supposed to be physical god at this point, so it'd be just like him to guide and teach the Warriors of Hope in how they were led astray, while also understanding why they took revenge against their abusive parents. Not sure if I'll do this with Monaca since she's supposed to be a sociopath, but that's for a later chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 56: Revolution, Masks, and the Undercover Agent

Nagito carefully listened in as Monaca was talking with the others Warriors, putting on a show of a fake funeral, even though he had recently learned that Masaru wasn't actually dead. Nagito had been curious if his luck could be enough to open Monaca to the possibility of change, a possibility that seemed real since her vision of her "Big Sis Junko" was based on lie perpetrated by Izuru. To facilitate this, Nagito had snuck into Towa City prior to the riots.

When he got caught, as he expected to happen, he was able to convince the Warriors that they needed at least one adult around as a servant to do all the little chores kids hate to do. They agreed, not realizing that he had managed to sneak in a communicator that let him make contact with the Kamen Riders, whom he trusted more than the Future Foundation. The group was good for fostering hope, but his respect and admiration for Hajime in showing him the correlation between hope, despair, and desire made him an avid follower in the rapidly growing "Church of OOO". It seemed word that Kamen Rider OOO was a god on Earth had spread in the wake of The Tragedy, and some people saw him as a beacon.

After Monaca's usual manipulations of the group, and placing Nagisa in charge as the new figurehead leader, Monaca wheeled herself out of the room. She didn't give Nagito any mind, apparently thinking him harmless. _'Deep down, she's still just a child,'_ he noted mentally, _'Intelligent, but naive. She has no idea how in over her head she truly is.'_ He walked into the room while the remaining trio was discussing what Monaca might be doing. "Excuse me," he said, "I brought those milkshakes you asked for. But it seems Miss Monaca's already left."

Kotoko carefully eyed the milkshakes. Nagito was glad he was able to contact someone else, since it meant he could ask Sonia, who knew a lot about making deserts, how to properly make a milkshake. "Wow, these actually look really yummy," Kotoko said, "Too bad Monaca decided to leave. Well Servant, it's your lucky day. We can't let these milkshakes go to waste, so you get to enjoy one with us. You'd better appreciate this favor." "Certainly," Nagito replied as he shared a toast with the Warriors, though as it was too their new utopia he had to fake it.

* * *

Meanwhile, OOO and Birth were heading through a dense jungle grown using technology from the Towa Group, a testament to their family's wealth and power. "Before this riot their company could compete with the Togami Group," Birth noted, "Though if not for the house of cards Byakuya's family is now standing on, I doubt that would be the case." Byakuya had long ago admitted that his family's wealth was in jeopardy, with too many people they owed and too many people who owe them, leaving them caught in a web.

It was actually the main reason why Byakuya was intending to start a brand new business under his personal name rather than that of his family's, so that he could take care of himself should the worst happen. That said, the fact that the only member of his family left was his butler, whom he saw as an honorary uncle, it was hard to think of anything worse. Back to the matter at hand, Foundation X had taken to bombing the man-made jungle in an effort to find some sort of laboratory which seemingly held the key to Towa Group's cleaning of the atmosphere.

For the first few months after The Tragedy started, terrible pollution made the outside unlivable. Towa Group fixed that with a revolutionary new filtration system that cleaned an entire country's worth of atmosphere all at once, making them very popular. The two Riders pondered these facts as they moved through the jungle, taking about the robotic bombers. Soon enough, they ran into Fumiko, who was coordinating the attack from a hover vehicle. "These Riders are starting to become more than a nuisance," she noted as she got out tablet, "Activate, Snake Robo!"

The snake-like robot leapt down from a nearby tree. **"Prey identified! Devour! Devour!"** "Dark," Birth said flatly. "One good reptile deservers another," OOO noted, as he activated his orange Combo. _**"Cobra! Kame! Wani! Bura-Ka~~Wani!"**_ OOO used the Kame shield to block the Robo's snake strikes while Birth sniped at it using his Birth Buster. The Robo tried to wrap the snake head that made it's headdress around the two Riders, but it kept getting slashed at when OOO kicked at it with his Wani legs.

Finally, Birth attached the Cell Bullet Pod to the barrel of the Birth Buster. _**"Cell Burst!"**_ A pull of the trigger blasted through the Robo, leaving it open as OOO activated his finisher. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Warning Ride!" The crocodile head manifested by the attack ripped through the Robo, causing it to explode. Seeing Fumiko decide to leave, OOO said, "Let's get back to the city proper. We should check in with your sister." Birth nodded.

* * *

Later, the Riders met up with Sonic and W under the subway. "Thanks for coming," W said, "We were hoping to check the subway tunnels. Those also lead out of the city so we were thinking we could find other captives the same way we found Yuta." "Yeah, about that," Tarot said as a blonde young woman appeared behind him, "I kinda already found Kanon." "Oh yeah," Sonic noted, "She's Leon's cousin, right?" "And supposed to be his fiance," Kanon replied, "Even if he never thought so. Though, given he apparently hooked up with my favorite idol singer, I'm forced to admit I may have some psychological problems."

"Just in case," OOO said, "I think it best Tarot keep an eye on you. Me, Birth, Kivala, Sonic, and W will check out the subway tunnel." On the way through the broken tunnels, they spotted the hit list card for Kanon. "So they don't know where she is," Sonic noted, "That's good for us. So long as we keep her on the move until we can find a safe location, I doubt she'll be targeted seriously."

As they continued, a new type of Monokuma, the Guard Monokuma, showed up. Sonic and Birth tried their sidearms, only to find the riot shields the Guards carried blocked attacks. "They must be made of duralumin," W reasoned. "I got something special for that," Sonic announced, getting out a new cartridge. _**"Cube Form! Knockback!"**_ Wielding the hammer that came with this form, Sonic struck the ground near the Guards, the shockwave knocking the shields out of their hands while throwing them on their backs.

With the Guards destroyed, the Riders walked a bit further, finding the end of the tunnel blocked by rubble. "I guess there's no sign of anyone around here," Birth noted. "Maybe we just got lucky with Yuta," Sonic reasoned. Just then, a shaking sound was heard, then a deep rumbling. "I think this part of the tunnel is going to-," OOO started. But he was cut off when a large chuck of debris nailed W in the head, hard enough to cancel her transformation and knock her out. "Collapse...," OOO finished.

"Is she okay?," Sonic asked. "She'll be fine," Birth assured her, "In three... Two... One..." Just then, Toko's body rose up, but it was clear Syo was now in control. "Take a good look, the cute one is here!" "You both look the same," Kivala noted, "You are sharing the same body after all." Just then, a small growling could be heard. "Oh yeah," Syo said, "We haven't gotten to use him yet. Hey Fang, over here!"

To Sonic's surprise, a Gaia Memory in the shape of a small lizard hopped over the rubble and onto Syo's hand. "This is the Fang Memory," Syo explained, "Kogami said I could use him to transform when it's me at the helm rather than Toko." She demonstrated by configuring the Memory in such a way that it could be plugged into the W Driver, and got out the Ace Memory too. "Henshin!" _**"Fang! Ace!"**_

The new suit configuration was a combination of dark blue and white. _"Huh?,"_ Toko's voice came from her side of W, _"What just happened?"_ "You got nailed in the head and I had to step in," Syo explained. _"Ah, gotcha. We're transformed though. So we finally get to unveil Fang, huh?"_ "And the tunnel's collapsing," OOO noted. "Then what are we waiting for," the two sides spoke as W, "Let's hurry back." Several Monokumas stood in the group's way, but W's new Fang Memory proved a force to be reckoned with.

Finally they reached the terminal just as the tunnel collapsed. When they got there, they were surprised to see Kanon looking distraught, while Yuta looked angered. Before anyone could ask, Syo wound up sneezing, canceling the transformation since she was no longer in control, though Toko quickly re-transformed so her other self could listen in. "What happened out here?," OOO asked. "Jataro decided to pay us a visit," Gold explained, "Not personally. Several of those kids brought in a flat screen that he used to contact us."

"That kid's just messed up," Yuta said, "He had the weirdest ideas about himself and those around him. It's like he wanted to be hated." "Even worse," Kanon said, sobbing, "He's been turning adults into his personal panoramas." "He is supposed to be the Li'l Ultimate Art," Sonic noted, "But still, to go that far..." "He got a serious reprimand, though," Joker said, "The Phantoms were here earlier, looking for that underground resistance. They heard some rumors about it and wanted to investigate."

Sonic looked surprised. "Those same Phantoms that were all over the news the year before last? They brazenly walked up to you?" "Why wouldn't they?," Joker said, smirking under her helmet, "I am part of their inner circle, and they trust the other Kamen Riders unconditionally. Anyway, Fox showed his disdain for how little respect Jataro was showing for both his art and his patrons. That may have been the first time Jataro _didn't_ like it when someone hated him. He seems to take his art seriously."

"Just what caused this kid to do these awful things?," Kanon demanded. "According to the information we have," Ixa said, "Jataro was a latchkey kid for most of his life. His parents were rarely around, and while his father was merely indifferent, his mother was verbally abusive." "Where did the mask come from?," Yuta asked, "Is he really so deformed as to need it?" "No, just the opposite," Sonic told him, "He's actually very gorgeous looking under the mask. But try telling him that."

"His mother disliked having to look after him," Ixa explained, "She thought of herself as nothing more than a platform for his life, keeping her from having several things she wanted. Things she could likely get once Jataro grew old enough to take care of himself, not that anyone could convince her. Every night, she wished he would be dead the next morning, but when she awoke he'd be as healthy as ever." "Now I'm starting to pity him," Kanon admitted, "But where does the mask come in?"

"She hated how beautiful Jataro looks," W explained, "As if it's some reason to take care of him. Wanting him to be ugly instead, she forced that mask on him and wouldn't show him to anyone, telling him he didn't look like other kids. Which is technically true, but this still caused him to think he was hideous. Makes me wonder if he ever looked in a mirror without the mask. Overtime he learned to accept all the hate as a coping mechanism."

"Given all this," OOO said, "Even Kazuo Tengan and myself understood when it was learned he killed his own mother and father. His mother was abusive and his father did nothing to stop her. But all those other adults had nothing to do with that, and it's clear he's learned the wrong lessons from his experience." Kanon shuddered. "Maybe we should get back to the surface. This subway is starting to feel creepy." They returned to the entrance, only to find a whole army of Monokumas dancing to some music, several kids following the rhythm.

"That's a lot of robots," W noted. She listened to the music for a bit. "They do have good taste." The group returned underground. "Guess we're not getting to the surface for a while," Battalion stated, "Now what?" "That dance party can't be taking place all over the city," Kivala reasoned, "Let's just keep exploring the subway until we find another exit." Further into the subway they came across an underground shopping mall. The winding paths eventually led to a game room.

Inspecting the arcade cabinet, Sonic saw a Bomber standing with its back to one wall, facing a group of Monokumas at the opposite wall. "I think I can take care of the entire group using my Cube Form," she reasoned. The shockwave proved strong enough to send the Bomber right into the group, destroying them all at once. Some distance past it, they spotted some Monokumas beating up a figure covered by a white sheet. A child-like voice came from the sheet, begging, "Please, stop this..."

The Riders immediately moved in and destroyed the Monokumas, saving the figure. OOO then removed the sheet, but was surprised to find a pure white Monokuma underneath, its left eye covered by a bandage. "Thank you for rescuing me," it said, "I was hoping to help you guys, but it looks like I'm the one who needed help." Ixa scoffed. "We're not exactly helpless." "I gathered that from watching you," the Monokuma admitted, "But I also overheard you were looking for the resistance. I wanted to find you and lead you to them."

"You'll forgive us if we're a little skeptical," W said, "Our experience with Monokumas hasn't been very good lately. Come to think about it, how are you moving on your own?" "Oh that," the Monokuma said, "It's because I have an AI." "Even worse," Battalion replied, "Our primary enemy is an AI that took over a human." The Monokuma sighed. "I'm not doing a good job of convincing you, am I?" "Well, to be fair, our experiences are hardly your fault," Gold admitted, "And it's true we do need to locate the resistance base. We have two people here that were being held captive by the same forces controlling the Monokumas."

"You actually found some?," the Monokuma asked, "She'll be grateful to hear that." "She who?," Sonic asked. "Oh, a member of the resistance," the Monokuma explained, "She's been having people go out in secret to find the captives and get them to safety." "We'll have to meet this person then," Birth reasoned, "We already have information on a few captives. By the way, we'll need something to call you as we're traveling." "Oh, I'm called Shirokuma," the bear explained, "Because I'm all white." "How original...," Ixa grumbled.

Shirokuma quickly proved useful as it could climb into large pipes to access locked doors, which the Riders couldn't break down easily due to being made of duralumin. Behind one such door, Yuta's hit list card was found. "They'll have a hard time finding you now," Sonic said to him, "It says you're supposed to be found back at the bridge." Sonic and Yuta had been talking so much the entire trip that Aqua and Birth were starting to think they might become siblings in the near future.

Soon enough they came across a game room. "Those children have been setting up these rooms all over," Shirokuma said, "They've been doing such cruel things." "It's because the leader of the Warriors of Hope brainwashed them," Battalion explained, "Why do you think they wear those helmets?" Shirokuma stared at him. "Isn't that because it's kinda their uniform?" "Don't patronize me!," Battalion said indignantly, "We found blueprints for those helmets on the airship those kids use for a hideout!" Maybe it was the Riders' imagination, but Shirokuma seemed a little surprised at Battalion's words.

The game room showed a similar setup to the previous one, only the group at the far end was made of Guards, who kept turning at certain intervals, meaning timing was key to getting the explosion to actually destroy the Guards. Past that, Shirokuma lead the group to a hole in the floor leading to the sewers. "Our base is through here," it said, "The other Monokumas don't know about it." "They may still have found a way into the sewers, though," W noted, "We can't let our guard down."

Nearby was a bridge that had to be raised. Shirokuma used a nearby pipe to reach it, but was ambushed by Monokumas as it did. Luckily, the Riders were able to leap across and take out the Monokumas before they could reach Shirokuma. "Why didn't you do that when we were coming across gaps earlier?," Kanon demanded. "Because of you two," Ixa explained, "There's no way of knowing if trying to use unsanctioned shortcuts in this little game will set off those bracelets." Kanon grumbled, having nearly forgotten about the explosive bracelets.

Later the group found another game room. This one had a Siren walking back and forth from a pit with water far below, which could easily short out the Monokumas, with a Junk not far from it standing still. "This looks easy," Sonic said, "I just need to use Asteroid when the Siren's near the water, then Cube to knock them both off." The plan worked, letting the group pass by. "I still can't believe they have game rooms this close to us," Shirokuma said, worried.

Continuing to explore led to a large riddle room with four pipes at one end. The kid there offered the challenge to Sonic. "Ten birds sit on a fence. An experienced gunman wants to get rid of them with his rifle. How many shots does he need? A, 100. B, 10, C, 1. D, 0 The air ducts are A,B, C, and D from left to right. Make your final answer and crawl into the correct air duct." "Well, the answer is obviously ten, right?," Kanon suggested, "Why would he need to use more than that?"

"It's an experienced gunman though," Sonic countered, "And an experienced gunman would know that birds will fly off when they hear a loud noise. He only wants to get the birds off the fence, after all, not kill them. So the answer is actually one." Using her Void Form, Sonic indicated which Shirokuma should enter. Much to Kanon's chagrin, Sonic was right. "Looks like someone needs to work on their brain age," W snarked, "No wonder Leon chose Sayaka over you, she's actually intelligent." Kanon gave a rueful sigh.

Finally, the group reached a ladder near a giant cistern. "It's just up there," Shirokuma said, climbing the ladder first. At the top was a large metal shutter. Shirokuma opened it to reveal a large warehouse with plenty of people inside, all of them adults or teenagers. "Guess she wasn't lying," Ryota said as he and the others canceled their transformations. "Where did you even find a place like this?," Toko asked. "This warehouse was once used to store water tanks," Shirokuma explained, "The kids don't know about it."

"What's with all the trailers over there?," Kazuichi asked. "Makeshift housing no doubt," Byakuya surmised. Shirokuma nodded. "Yeah, I brought them here to make it easier for everyone to live here. I may be nicer than the others, but I'm still a Monokuma, so I'm plenty strong. Anyway, feel free to talk to the folks here, then meet me by the main office building over there." It pointed to the small building at the far end of the warehouse, then walked over.

Most of the adults didn't seem friendly, though many were relieved to hear the Kamen Riders were in the city. A few fanatics were unwilling to believe the children weren't truly responsible for the horrors that were being inflicted by the Warriors' actions. Finally, a pink-haired woman greeted Yasuhiro. "Well, well, is that my handsome son I spy?" "Mom!?," Yasuhiro said in shock, "You've been here the whole time!? Do you know how worried I've been!?"

"Considering I was kidnapping just to goad you into killing someone," the woman noted, "Pretty damn worried." Yasuhiro sighed. "Guys, this is my mom, Hiroko. Mom, these are my fellow Kamen Riders." "Pleased to meet you," Hiroko said with a teasing wink. "So what are you doing here?," Komaru asked, "From what we've learned of this place, you must be the one sending people out to search for the other captives." "That's right," Hiroko said, "Of course, our 'illustrious' leader doesn't let anyone leave, but I've been able to... Convince some folks."

"I'm starting to get why you never remarried," Yasuhiro said with a sigh, "It's a miracle you and Dad are still on speaking terms." "It's not like we ever stopped liking each other," Hiroko clarified, "We just grew apart. Anyway, I noticed you came in with two others." Komaru nodded as she handed over the lists. "There's Kanon and Yuta. We also found cards indicating where Takaaki Ishimaru and Takemichi Yukimaru might be." "I'll have my people investigate those areas," Hiroko said, "It'll leave you guys free to search for signs of the others."

After that, the Riders joined Shirokuma inside the office building. "We use this place as a conference room," it explained, "We can talk in here." The building looked empty, much to Shirokuma's confusion. "Here's not here... He usually is though." "I'm sure he'll show up soon," Hajime noted, "Let's hang around until he gets back." As they did, Kyosuke frowned as he read some journal entries, the context suggesting they were written by this leader, and implied said leader had some dark thoughts regarding the children in general, not just the Warriors of Hope.

Just then the door opened. "Yo, Shirokuma," came an all-too familiar voice, "You been going out again? I keep telling you it's dangerous." The Riders turned, and sure enough, it was Haiji Towa, now sporting a cast on his right arm. He looked as surprised to see them as they were to see him. Haiji sighed. "Shit... Well now you've done it Shirokuma. You brought the Riders right to our doorstep." "Pleasure to see you as well, Haiji," Byakuya said with a hint of disdain.

Shirokuma looked confused. "Do you already know each other?" "Haiji was the headmaster of the Gifted Inmates Academy," Toko explained, "While we acted as the security force. We never really got along." "What happened to your arm?," Komaru asked. "Those kids happened," Haiji explained, the venom clear in his voice. "The kids, or the Monokumas?," Kazuichi retorted. "Who do you think is controlling those monsters?," Haiji demanded.

"Just the five Warriors of Hope," Komaru noted, "I mean, they never indicated any of the kids wearing the Monokuma masks were really part of their group." "Not to mention those masks brainwash whoever wears them," Hajime said, "We've seen proof of this. So again we ask... Was it the kids, or the Monokumas who busted your arm?" Haiji grumbled, but muttered out, "Those Monokumas stabbed my arm, caused the nerves to be damaged beyond repair."

He sighed, trying to reign in his emotions. "So, what are you doing here, anyway? Don't tell me Future Foundation sent you?" "Hey, we wouldn't accept a request from them if it wasn't important," Juzo pointed out, "It just so happens the captives that were used as motives during the Killing Game are being held here in Towa City. We were asked to search for them and get them to safety." "I guess that's fine," Haiji admitted, "Those little brats seem keen on hunting them down specifically. But hold on, I'm already looking at two of those captives, and I saw two more on the way in."

"Well, me and Yasuke are Kamen Riders," Komaru reminded him, "We also ran into Yuta and Kanon on the way here. You're not gonna make some quip about them drawing danger to this place, are you?" Haiji shook his head. "No, this is probably the safest place for them in the whole city. At least until those bracelets can somehow be removed." Just then, a commotion was heard outside. "Now what's up?," Haiji asked as he walked out, the others following him out of curiosity.

The giant van in middle of the warehouse had a jumbotron on one side, showing things happening on the surface. Rather disturbing things, at that. Seeing how distressed the images were making everyone, Kyosuke activated his Driver. "Henshin!" _**"Kamen Ride! Decade!" "Attack Ride! Shoot!"**_ "Everyone back off!," he warned, causing people to quickly step far back from the van. Decade quickly blasted it, causing it to explode. "Who let this propaganda machine in here!?," he demanded.

Shirokuma looked saddened. "I just wanted people to know what was going on at the surface...," it insisted. "Well it's doing more harm than good," Decade reprimanded it, "With these people being so helpless down here, showing them what's happening to those still in the line of fire is causing them to sink into despair." Haiji sighed. "Maybe it is for the best, Shirokuma. Sometimes ignorance can be better than knowledge."

They went back inside the building. "It's a sick joke," Haiji said, "I always wanted enough power to prove I deserve the Towa name, now here I am as the leader of a resistance cell... Only to find there's nothing I can do. Even with all this power... I'm powerless. Anyway, it's been a long day for a lot of us. We have some spare rooms if you're alright sleeping here." "It is getting pretty dark," Hajime noted, "We might as well get some sleep." The group agreed, and set themselves up in a few of the makeshift houses.

* * *

The next day, the Riders returned to the sewers, having left Yuta and Kanon at the resistance base. "I think our next move should be reporting to Future Foundation," Ixa said, "We just need a spot that can bypass the jamming signal. Perhaps Towa Tower. From what we gathered from Haiji and Shirokuma, it should be taller than where the signal is being broadcast from."

The group headed through the sewers until they reached a way up, which led to a graveyard. "Oh no...," Sonic muttered, "Not a graveyard." "Sonic... Can see ghosts," Birth explained. "Wait, really?," Aqua asked, a little surprised. "Yeah, ever since I was a kid," Sonic explained. "We might be able to spread out more here," OOO suggested, "Our target is the tower, but we still need to keep an eye out for any more captives." The headed off in various directions, W staying with Sonic. "You gonna be okay?," W asked.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, sure. I have to be if we're gonna complete this mission. Let's get moving." The street outside the graveyard was surprisingly cheerful in design, which just looked off-putting considering the signs of death sprinkled here and there. The two Riders could make out Towa Tower in the distance. Eventually they found a game room in their path, which held a hologram device that Sonic could manipulate with the Hover Form. Once hacked, it displayed a hologram of a Monokuma kid dancing.

The cabinet showed a group of Guards with their backs to another hologram machine, while a Bomber was facing it. Sonic used Hover to draw in the Bomber using the hologram, then Drill to knock it down and destroy the Guards. The seemed to have Snow White motif, with Monaca as Snow White and Nagisa as the prince. "Someone ships those two," W noted, "Though I guess if Monaca wasn't so manipulative, she would be a good match for him. They're both highly intelligent, if more naive than they realize."

The upper level had another game room. There was a Bomber staring at a hologram machine across from it. Several Guards were nearby past a large column, and there was a pit just behind and to the right of them from where they were facing. Sonic activated the hologram to draw the Bomber in, then used Cube Form to knock it over the pit and behind the Guards, taking them all out.

The room had another fairy tale motif, this time Cinderella, with Kotoko as Cinderella and Masaru as Prince Charming. "Now those are clearly a good match," W admitted, "If only Kotoko could over her insecurities after... Well, what her parents put her through." "How about we save that for when after we've found Jataro and made him realize he's a bad guy?," Sonic suggested.

The Riders finally reconvened outside the Towa Tower, but were surprised to see Jataro there waiting with a bunch of Monokumas. "I'm a little upset those X guys took my Driver," he noted, "But I haven't had a good track record against you anyway so maybe it's best I not fight. Instead, I'll let these guys deal with you." "I was wondering why Masaru didn't have his Driver," OOO noted. "And where Foundation X got the means to mass produce it," Den-O said.

Jataro hurried inside the tower as the Riders started tearing the Monokumas to shreds. "That feels cathartic," Joker noted, "But I'm betting Jataro headed for the top of the tower." Inside, the tower looked like it meant for tourism. "Heading to the top sounds like a good idea," Sonic suggested, "Wanna try the elevator? I'm doubting it'll work so easily, but at least we can say we tried it first."

Sure enough, the elevator needed a keycard to operate, leaving the group needing to climb the stairs. On the way, they spotted a hit list card for Hiroko, which made Tarot indignant. "Oh come on! Even the kids!? Just because my mom looks as young as I do, they all think she's sees me like _that_! How many times do I have to tell people, she's only into older men..." As the group walked through the tower, the signs that Towa Group was the one who made the Monokumas was evident.

At the stairs, a new spherical Monokuma called the Ball Monokuma approached. In addition to trying to roll over the Riders, it threw trash as a distraction. "I'd rather not get cup noodles on my head," Joker snarked. The group continued to move up, being forced to find new stairs as they ones they started climbing seemed to be blocked. "They must want to have victims move through all the Monokumas," Sonic noted, "That reminds me, why do people in this city think Future Foundation is connected to Foundation X, when it was Towa Group who made the Monokumas that the latter like using?"

"Vicious rumors spread easy in this environment," Skull explained, "Just one more reason to hate Haiji, since he was the one starting the rumors in order to keep people from relying on Future Foundation within this city. And now the Warriors of Hope plan to capitalize on that." The game room further on had a hallway filled with Guards at the exit, Bombers that switched between watching the entrance and watching the exit, and a Ball at the far end that only watched the exit.

Carefully sneaking past the Bombers when they weren't looking, Sonic got behind the Ball and hit it with the Cube power when its legs were tucked in, causing it to roll into the other Monokumas and take them out. That let the group continue. As they kept searching the rooms, they found a card for Ayaka Haneyama. "This is a member of Sayaka's idol group, right?," W asked, "I just realized how similar their names are."

Later they arrived a room filled with maritime items. A kid approached and handed them a challenge. It said only that there only one real key among all the ones in the room. "We don't have time to check them all out," Decade noted, "Is there any clue in the room that can help us find it faster?" Sonic thought for a second, then switched her cartridge. _**"Void Form! Detect!"**_ A quick scan of the room showed a hidden picture of three inner tubes with an arrow through them, pointing to a key.

"I see," she realized, "We have to use the key that can be seen through three inner tubes in a row." When the right key was found the group was able to move on. As they approached the fourth floor, they could hear the sounds of someone typing. "Is there still someone alive in here?," Aqua asked. They carefully approached. When the figure typing sensed them, he whirled around, a little freaked, but softened up when he saw the Riders. "Whew," the man said, "I thought those Monokumas had found me."

Birth looked the man over. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be Taichi Fujisaki, would you?" The man nodded. "Yes, but how did you know?" "We happen to know your son, Chihiro," Ixa explained, "And we're in this city looking for those held captive as motives for the Killing Game." "Thank goodness," Taichi said, "I was hoping a rescue would come. I've been trying to use this laptop to remove the bracelet." Ixa tapped his chin. "Could you also use to hack into the elevator? We need to get to the top and contact Future Foundation, to get them up to speed."

Taichi nodded. "Sure, I could easily do that." As the group found a shortcut using Bombers to open the stairs leading down, Sonic asked, "Hey Taichi, why were even in Towa City in the first place?" "I wanted to test my skills here," Taichi explained, "This city is the leading developer of advanced technologies built to combat the growing despair. I was working in security building advanced programs for protection. It was actually through this that my son Chihiro discovered his own talent for programming."

"Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," W noted. They reached the elevator and Taichi inspected it. "As expected of Towa City. They're using the latest security technology. I can still break into it, but it'll take time." "Maybe you could use some help," came another voice. The Riders spun around to see Oracle and the other Phantoms show up. "Oh boy," W said, "Now we have two Jokers in the deck. Hey Kyoko, mind if we just call you Rider for now."

Kyoko, Rider, chuckled. "If that makes it easier." "What are the Phantoms doing here?," Sonic asked. "The same thing you are no doubt," Joker explained, "We need to get to the top of the tower to contact the rest of our gang." Just then, the sound of Monokumas approaching was heard. "Oracle, get on that elevator," Joker said. Oracle nodded and summoned Prometheus. Taichi naturally had questions, but those could wait until the door was open.

After a bit of fighting, the elevator was hacked. "Better stand back Mr. Fujisaki," Oracle said, "I'm picking up another Monokuma just inside the elevator. And it's ferocious." Taichi nodded and stepped away as the doors opened, revealing a new robot called the Beast Monokuma. The Beasts charged to attack and seemed capable of dodging, but they still went down quickly. Once they were gone, the group entered the elevator. Things seemed to go smoothly, until the elevator just stopped mid-flight. Suspicious, OOO said, "Wait here. I'll check things out."

* * *

Sure enough, there was another Killosseum on the floor they stopped at. Jataro was standing there, though the children seemed to be booing rather than cheering like they did with Masaru. "Hey," Jataro said, "Aren't you that Rider that suddenly became a god? If so, do you know if Masaru is in Heaven right now?" "I haven't even left the Earth," OOO noted, "But I do know Masaru is still alive. I saw him off to our hideout personally."

Jataro looked surprised. "Wait... You didn't decide to kill him? 'Cuz Monaca thought we'd be killed if the adults ever caught us. I mean, they don't exactly like that we killed so many of them." "And why not?," OOO asked, "Accepting the horror you've been conditioned to only causes it to never end. Trying to adhere to the madness caused by The Tragedy won't make it stop, it'll just perpetuate it. You should know better than anyone, since you finally stood up against your abusive mother."

Jataro's eyes shined. "Yeah, I did do that, didn't I?" "And yet you still desire to be hated by others," OOO reprimanded, "A terrible desire to have. It's not healthy to have such thoughts. Or to think that every child has the same bad experiences as you. It seems you're still naive." Jataro looked confused. "Naive? Am I really naive? Monaca always said it was the other kids that were naive for not realizing how bad Demons are. And the lessons we got from Big Sis Junko..."

"You precious big sister was just as much a slave to AI Izuru's mind control," OOO told him, "And he has no human apathy whatsoever." "Oh, that makes sense," Jataro replied, surprising OOO, "'Cuz Monaca said Big Sis Junko was dead, but I saw her being a participant in the Killing Game. It got me confused, more so when Monaca said that wasn't Big Sis Junko. But if she was just under someone else's control, then that explains everything."

He raised his hand to accept the controller and hit the button. "I guess if we're meant to be stopped, then so be it. But we still have to fight so you can prove your justice over ours." The giant blue robot Doctor Von Gerolt flew in through the window. OOO chuckled as he switched to his yellow Combo. "If you insist." _**"Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!"**_ The speed at which OOO could now move was easily able to evade and attack Doctor Von Gerolt, deflecting its bombs and blinding it to negate its missiles.

Finally, OOO spotted the electrical core of the robot and activated his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Gush Cross!" OOO aimed for when the Doctor was on the ground and slashed through the metal plating, striking the core. The resulting electrical surge deactivated the helmets on the kids, and caused the robot to explode. Jataro sunk to the ground, laughing pathetically. "Maybe we aren't right after all..."

"Considering you still think this is hiding an ugly face," OOO said as he tugged off Jataro's mask. Jataro quickly moved to cover his face, but was surprised when he heard gasps that more suggested awe then horror. Suddenly he found himself mobbed by young girls, giggling and noting how handsome he looked, one even producing a mirror to show him proof. Seeing his true face, Jataro couldn't help but blush in embarrassment at all the praise he was getting.

* * *

At the observation deck, Jataro was sent off to join Masaru on the Kamen Riders' airship. The Phantoms managed to get in contact with their crew and confirm that Foundation X seemed focused on Towa City, and left instructions to get the word out to the general public before taking off. OOO left this information with the leaders of the Future Foundation. "Kotoko is likely to be our next target," he mused, "And Monaca will want her as freaked out as possible for this fight."

To be continued...

 **Another chapter done. I'm hoping to get through this soon, as I have some fun things planned for the arc. Read and review.**


	57. Chapter 57: Girl's Battlefield

**Decided to get back on this project. We'll do things a little differently for this arc. After all, last we checked, the Riders have an escort with them. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 57: Girl's Battlefield, Escort, and the Stolen Driver

"Our next step needs to be finding out how to get this information to the people without misconceptions," OOO noted, "People in this city are still convinced that Future Foundation is in league with Foundation X. While it is true Foundation X, especially Izuru, has sleeper agents in Future Foundation, that's just proof the two groups _aren't_ in league." As he was talking, the power in the building suddenly went out. "I'm guessing, this isn't part of the plan," Taichi noted.

W started grumbling. "Great... I hate dark places. I'm able to handle it for short periods now, but it's a long way down." "One second," OOO said as he swapped to his orange Combo. _**"Cobra! Kame! Wani! Bura-Ka~~Wani!"**_ "The Cobra Medal grants me infrared vision," OOO explained, "Perfect for dark places like this. And the orange of my suit will stand out even in the dim light. Follow me close, now." Several of the other Riders also had suits that stood out in the darkness, making it easy to keep track of each other. Sonic made sure to keep Taichi close at hand.

Nearby, OOO spotted a kid playing with a Monokuma plushie. As he approached, the kid spotted him, then leaped over the counter she was behind, knocking over a can of invisible paint that popped open and dropping her glow stick. She then ran off. "Sonic," OOO said, "You're taking the lead with me." Taking the hint, Sonic got out her Void cartridge. _**"Void Form! Detect!"**_ She handed the glow stick to Taichi and activated her sidearm to highlight the invisible footprints, letting the group follow them.

As they made their way through the dark, Sonic found a card featuring a black cat with a rather frilled collar. Ixa sighed in frustration. "That's Gran Bois Cheri," he explained, "Celeste's precious cat that she spoils endlessly. Up until The Tragedy started he's been living the high life in her dorm." "It says he only eats gyoza," Sonic noted. "Celeste's favorite food," Ixa explained, "She always shares with him, and it's gotten to the point he won't eat anything else, not even real cat food."

Finally, they caught up to the kid, and Sonic grabbed her from behind. "Battalion, the mask!" Battalion got out his tools and carefully, undid the mask. Once it came off, the girl looked around in confusion. "Huh? When did it get so dark?" The mask started beeping, so Battalion quickly threw it down a nearby door and braced. The explosion knocked him back a bit and blew the door off its hinges, but thanks to their suits, and they fact that they got in front of the girl and Taichi, no one got harmed.

"You okay?," OOO asked the girl. She nodded, still spooked and confused. "Are you... A superhero?" "Yeah," OOO replied, "Kamen Rider OOO. What's your name?" "Kairi," the girl said, "Kairi Tachibana. Um... How did I get here? And where's my mommy and daddy?" OOO sighed. "I don't know. Lot's of people are gone outside this tower, and we haven't had the chance to identify them. We can get you somewhere safe, and after that we'll see if we can't find your parents. Okay?"

Kairi nodded. "You know how to get out of here?," W asked. Kairi thought for a moment. She did know she was in Towa Tower, but knew little else due to the fantasy world the helmet created. "I think there's an emergency staircase over..." She pointed to the now smoking doorframe. "Over there..." Battalion went to look. "I wish you told us sooner. The staircase got torn up from the explosion." "I wish you threw that helmet somewhere else!," W called out, "You're supposed to be the sempai here! Doesn't that mean you're supposed to be smarter!?"

"Relax you guys," OOO said, "There's bound to be another way down. Let's just focus and look around the area." Kairi looked a little shocked, and sick, from seeing the dead bodies around the tower. "I only saw these people as demons through the helmet," she said sadly, "They actually looked like the monsters in my storybooks..." Taichi looked at her sadly. Ixa turned thoughtful. "We were going to send her to the airship for her own safety. But it might convince the underground not to hate the children if she testifies her perspective."

"That's a nice sentiment," Birth agreed, "But when has an adult _ever_ listened to a child's insight, unless they were the child's parents? And if Kairi's parents are alive, they're not in the underground. Except for Hiroko and possibly Takaaki, whose children are grown up, all the adults there are childless. And forget trying to convince Haiji, he'll want Kairi killed on the spot." "Maybe it would help if I vouched for her," Taichi offered. The group continued to discuss ideas until they hit on a plan, then kept going.

Nearby was a crack in the wall, allowing the group outside. After calling in a pick-up for Kairi, they group looked over the walkway. "Now we just need to find a way down," Sonic noted, "I'm guessing even with these suits a fall from this height is lethal." "Not lethal," OOO clarified, "Just really painful. And you'll probably break a leg or two." "We could always climb down," Gold noted, "And there is a ladder over there." The group started climbing down.

* * *

Monaca and her remaining two friends, Kotoko and Nagisa, were also making plans, which Nagito carefully relayed to the Riders. He had a secondary transmitter hooked up to the underground Resistance, including the fact that the Warriors somehow knew where it was. Haiji feigned surprise, but Nagito and the Riders knew about Monaca being Haiji's half-sister, born from his father's affair. Nagito also got to see Kurokuma for the first time. This all-black Monokuma was dressed up like an American street gangster and covered its right eye with an eyepatch. "Even the kids think he talks too much," Nagito noted.

* * *

The emergency ladder only stopped at the second floor, but that was still lower down than the top, so the Riders could conceivably jump down without problems, though this still left Taichi. The lounge had cracks in its wall, but the nearby room had an emergency power panel. Sonic got out the appropriate cartridge. _**"Hover Form! Move!"**_ Sonic was able to activate the lights. As she moved to the door, several kids burst through, leaving behind a challenge to "Find the light in the darkness".

The nearby shutter was locked with a laptop. "I can handle this," Sonic said with confidence, "For I am the Riddle Queen. Let's see... The wording on the riddle may be as it seems. We simply need to find out how to use light to find the answer." "Both rooms are lit up now, though," Kivala pointed out, "Where's the darkness part?" Sonic thought for a minute. "Well, now that we got the power working, I'll bet the light switches are functional. And those cracks in the other rooms looked a little weird."

Sure enough, turning the lights off in the previous room revealed some of the cracks took the shape of numbers, though there were six numbers and the code required only four. Back in the shutter room, Sonic used her Void Form to discover that the cabinets in the dark room were covered in paint, and the paint splattered over the walls showed they had been moved. "They were originally in front of some of the numbers... I got it! The code has to be 2197."

Sure enough, this proved to be the right answer, getting Sonic excited. "Geez," W said, "It's only a child's riddle." "I think it just show's how flexible Sonic's mind is," Taichi countered, "Children's riddles can be more difficult for grownups to solve." W rubbed her chin. "Come to think about it, earlier Sonic solved a riddle Kanon got wrong, even though they're more or less the same age."

As they reached the first floor, another kid approached inside a challenge room. Sonic read the note. "So it's hide-and-seek this time. And so long as the kid hiding is singing the Beasts in the next room will be active." She activated the nearby cabinet. "They seem to be moving in a predictable pattern. The kid must be hiding in one of those special closets." "Better be careful," W noted, "I get the feeling if we don't get the right one, we'll get attacked."

Sonic nodded, then carefully snuck through the room while listening for the song. Once she found it, the kid stopped singing in surprise, causing the Beasts to malfunction. As the Riders took the Beasts out, Battalion pulled a machine out of one of them that had a familiar winking chibi face. "So Miu created this device," he realized, "A harmonic resonator that can enable movement. She's not gonna like that another of her inventions was being used for evil."

"She did still make Sonic's Driver," Kivala noted, "I'd say that balances it out." After dealing some more Monokumas, the group finally made it out. "What's our next move?," Birth asked. "First we need to escort Taichi to the underground," OOO said, "Hopefully Hiroko has found some of the other captives, and we can inform her of the captives we learned about." "What about the fact that Foundation X took Jataro's Priest Driver?," Gold asked. "Let's get Taichi to safety," OOO asserted, "Then we'll track down the Driver."

On the way back, they found the hit list for Taichi. As they made their way through the docks, they reached another challenge room, this one with a maze. The labyrinth turned out to be simple, with two hologram machines. One was behind a group of Guards, with a Bomber on the other wall looking at the machine. Sonic carefully made her way to this machine and activated it, drawing in the Bomber so she could take it out and destroy the Guards all at once.

The next room held another challenge. Several Guards were on either side of a wall, a hologram machine to one side of them with a Siren directly across from it. Not far from the hologram was an electric car. Sonic used the hologram to lure the Siren to it, then hit it with Asteroid to draw in the Guards, who were soon taken out with the car. The door led to a third challenge room. "How many of these have been set up?," Taichi wondered aloud.

Several Monokumas could be seen at either end of the room, a trio of Bombers between them with a pit at their back. Sonic simply used Drill on the one in the middle, which knocked the other two into a position to blow up the regular units. The kid looked downtrodden, at least it could assumed as such from the slouch since the helmet covered hid face. "I've noticed something going through these rooms," OOO said, "They all take inspiration from Dragon's Quest."

"Oh, you played that?," Sonic said eagerly. "My girlfriend is the Ultimate Gamer," OOO explained, "We pretty much double-teamed the game. I'd handle the combat while she took to exploring. Come to think of it, the Warriors do take their Rider names from RPG jobs." "Kinda disturbing to see Junko as their queen though," W noted. They left the maze and continued on, but soon were herded to another challenge room.

A single Monokuma was standing between two holograms, one of which was in a large puddle of water that extended to a group of Guards. "How do we complete this one?," Taichi asked. "I think I know what can get us through," Sonic replied. She drew in the Monokuma with the hologram, then got out her yellow cartridge. _**"Lightning Form! Paralyze!"**_ The shock from the Lightning shot traveled along the water to destroy all the Monokumas at once, letting the group continue through the harbor.

* * *

Eventually, the group was able to make their way back to the Resistance hideout. There was a bunch of mumbling, and it looked like the main building was covered in red cards. "What's going on?," OOO asked. Shirokuma approached the group. "Something strange has been happening. These cards were plastered all over our conference room." It handed one to OOO, who recognized it. "This is one of the Phantoms' calling cards." "How nostalgic," Sonic noted, "They haven't used an old-fashioned calling card since the Kaneshiro incident."

"I think it might have to do with who they're targeting," Shirokuma explained, "Go ahead. Read it." OOO looked at the card. "To Haiji Towa, the cowardly general. While the adults you protect can be excused for their need to hide, you have been keeping a weapon hidden and have no plans to use it. Further, you spread terrible propaganda against those who would assist you, wanting all the glory for winning a war that has not even begun. Therefore, we have chosen to make you confess your crimes with your own mouth. Expect us soon, the Phantoms."

"This world is merged with the Metaverse," Joker noted, "It would be easy for the King of Thieves and his court to steal Haiji's heart." "Worse still," Shirokuma said, "Everyone in Towa City knows and trusts the Phantoms. It's got them conflicted, since anytime the Phantoms target someone they really are bad people, but no one here wants to think that of Haiji. His family has done so much for the city, and the world, ever since the Killing Game was thwarted."

The Riders left Taichi and all the other cards with Hiroko. Her faction had already gone out and retrieved the captives from earlier. Inside the conference room, there was a lot of grumbling, most of it about Haiji, but also about the information the Riders had leaked to Hiroko via Nagito. "We were told all these things, Haiji," one man said, "And now it looks like we may not be safe in here after all." Haiji sighed in frustration. "Fine, okay, Monaca is my sister. But there's no way she's smart enough to know about this place."

"She was smart enough to organize that entire army of Monokumas," a woman chimed in, "My sister has a daughter who knows the entire city like the back of her hand, including the sewer systems thanks to my brother-in-law working for the septic company." "It's not that we want to suspect you of any misdeeds," another man said, "You've done a lot for us. But the Phantoms are never wrong in their assertions, and in hindsight a lot of your choices seem questionable."

Just then, a massive explosion could be heard outside, and the sound of screaming followed by gunshots, explosions, and slashes of various kinds. The Riders headed outside to see the Phantoms battling Monokumas. "Interesting seeing you here," King Joker noted, "I guess we were bound to meet up on more than one occasion." Oracle tossed Battalion a special device. "Those kids use GPS to track the bracelets after slipping them on their victims," she explained, "They've been doing so from the beginning. Get them off if you want this place off the radar."

The Riders, save Battalion who got to work on the bracelets, helped the Phantoms deal with the Monokumas. Once they were all gone, the Phantoms left before Haiji could confront them. King Joker stayed just long enough to say, "You probably want to talk your way out of our job, but your Shadow already told us everything." He then raised his voice. "You guys were told that Foundation X has agents planted in Future Foundation, right? But why would they need to spy on their own people?" He then vanished into the Shadows.

"Guys, we have a problem," Battalion said, "Kanon's missing. Worse, I just got word that someone using the Priest Driver is at the man-made jungle." "Can that device track the bracelets?," OOO asked. Battalion nodded. "It's locked on to their signature. Oracle even lent me a copy." "Give one to Sonic and W," OOO ordered, "You two track down Kanon. Me and Birth will track down the missing Driver. The rest of you stay here and rebuild the shutter, and make sure this attack cannot be repeated." The group nodded.

* * *

A young man waited as OOO and Birth approached. "I see you managed to defeat X. He had delusions that he would be the one to lead our foundation in time, simply because of his call sign. Well, he wasn't entirely wrong. We were all being groomed for that position, he just had the audacity to think he was being favored." He brought out the familiar Driver used by the Warriors of Hope. "Such powerful weapons... Being left in the hands of children. Only a trained soldier can truly wield their full power. Such as I, who is known as A."

He slipped the Driver on activated it. "Henge!" Changed into the familiar form of Armored Rider Priest, he started launching his missile attack as the two Kamen Riders dodged. The three Riders got into their fight, Priest doing a good job of keeping up but it was still two on one, and both OOO and Birth had more experience in actual fights. Priest tried several times to attack with his missiles, but they kept getting shot down by the Birth Buster or slashed apart by the Medajalibur.

Priest finally stared to get worn out. "How...? We had the data... Those kids were one thing but..." Birth spotted an opening and linked the Birth Buster's Cell Bullet Pod to the barrel. _**"Cell Burst Mode!"**_ He fired off a shot that sent Priest reeling. Taking the hint, OOO slotted a few Cell Medals into the Medajalibur and used the O Scanner. _**"Triple Scanning Charge!"**_ "OOO Bash!" OOO aimed for the Driver, slashing through the environment itself. As reality corrected itself from the slash, the Driver exploded, reverting A back to normal.

* * *

As Sonic and W, who was now in Fang form, drove after the signal, Sonic said, "Refresh my memory. How badly was Kotoko messed up by her folks?" "Hoo boy, there's a story," W replied, "When was just turning ten, her dad whored her out to producers in exchange for getting her acting roles. Her mother joined in out of a twisted sense of love, billing them as a 'mother daughter set'. Her folks actually believed this was in her best interest, thinking it would let 'sparkle forever'. Now my folks were never the best, but boy were they ever better than Kotoko's."

"Yeah, now I remember," Sonic noted, "But her father was the worse of the two. He was cheating on his wife and using the money he got for himself. Poor girl..." "Come to think about it," W said, "Why is the blip moving so fast? Are there even any vehicles left?" Just then, the monorail they were parallel too ran by. "I think that might be our answer." They leapt off their Ridevendors, smashing through the window of the monorail.

Inside were multiple Monokuma's of various types. After smashing and slashing through them, they managed to reach the front car, which was decorated in pink velvet. Kanon was strapped up to an odd machine with cartoonish hands on wires. "Oh, are we interrupting something?," Syo asked. _"If we are it's a good thing,"_ Toko pointed out, _"That machine is clearly meant to molest Kanon!"_ "Yeah, she clearly wants to be let down," Sonic said.

"You bet your asses I do!," Kanon cried out, "No hurry up before this brat gets up again!" The Riders looked down. They had smashed their way through the door, and wound up catching Kotoko in the blast, and she was now flat on her stomach with her panties showing. "You...," she said as she got up, "I can't let you interfere. Adorable girls need to be punished. Henge!" She activated her Driver, changing into Armored Rider Fighter. The two Kamen Riders looked at each other. "In that case," Sonic said as she raised her sidearm. "I hope you're ready for punishment, Fighter," W said, causing Fighter surprise.

Sonic's powers, coupled with W's new form, really caused Fighter problems. She wasn't able to handle the Kamen Riders before today, and now they were throwing new things at her. As the energy from her Driver ran low, she saw W hit the horn on the Fang Memory. _**"Fang! Maximum Drive!"**_ A large saber appeared on W's right ankle as they leapt into the air in a roundhouse kick. "Fang Streiser!" The attack, broke Kotoko out of her transformation as an image of Fang's head bit down on her.

"Owie!," Kotoko complained, "You're mean!" "I think killing adults who have nothing to do with your problems is pretty mean," Sonic pointed out. Just then, the monorail started to lurch. "Uh, Kotoko," W said, "Who's operating this monorail?" Kotoko looked confused. "Monorails need operators?" The two looked at each other, their eyes bugging out beneath their helmets. At that moment, the monorail crashed into a nearby building. Kotoko ran for it while Sonic went to get Kanon. "Are you okay?" "You have a lovely wife," Kanon said, clearly out of it, "Both very pretty."

* * *

Kotoko was fuming now. By chance, she had landed at her personal Killosseum, but a member of Foundation X had been waiting there to confiscate her Driver, and she had at least two Kamen Riders on her tail, possibly more with that giant explosion that could be heard for miles. Sure enough, she gasped when she heard OOO's voice. "You know," he said, landing in his Tajador form, "I've heard you and your friends blame all those other adults for not helping your situation. But it's naive to assume they could."

"Well, why wouldn't they then?," Kotoko demanded. "My word was 'could,'" OOO reminded her, "As in, they didn't know your situation. You think you were the only actor in your family? Your parents and those producers were actors in all but name, making everyone outside their circle think your family life was normal. Kids are surprisingly difficult to fool with complex schemes or deceptions, but adults are another matter. This is why you're so despised by the remaining adults. They can't relate to your problems, because they don't know about your problems."

Kotoko shook her head in utter shock. It had never occurred to her that the reason no one helped her was because no one knew she needed help. But in hindsight, it seemed so obvious. She couldn't help but giggle nervously. "Daddy was clever enough to get Mommy involved by playing on her concern for me... Why wouldn't he be able to trick other adults into turning the other way? But... I've come too far now... Monaca won't accept any more failures. If I can't do this... She's threatening me with gentle..."

OOO shook his head. "You are gonna need serious therapy after this..." Kotoko caught her controller and activated her Fighter Robot, Highlander the Great. OOO in turn activated his grey Combo. _**"Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... Sa-Go-Zo!"**_ The two powerhouses fought each other, though Highlander the Great's axe couldn't damage the extra large fists of OOO's Sagozo form, which were great for offense and defense.

As the robot took damage, OOO saw an opening and activated his O Scanner. _**"Scanning Charge!"**_ "Sagozo Impact!" Highlander the Great was drawn into the ground, where OOO struck it in the head with his helmet and fists, destroying the power core and sending out an electrical wave that deactivated all the Monokuma helmets. Kotoko was also knocked for a loop, her panties showing off again. "Of course on second thought, maybe gentle's not such a bad thing...," she murmured in delirium, "It's not like it's always in the context of lewdness, after all..."

* * *

Nagisa watched as Kotoko was led out of the building where her Killosseum was. _'I always knew this game was a mistake,'_ he said thought, _'The Kamen Riders were drawn here because we had the captives. All we want is a peaceful paradise, free from adults. I was alright with bringing other kids in as well. They might actually enjoy it, a chance to be free from the fear of the outside world. But Monaca... She took it too far...'_ "Thinking of trying to stop Monaca," came Nagito's voice.

"What do you want, Servant?," Nagisa asked. Nagito smiled. "Well, as a servant it's also my duty to offer advice when my masters really need it." Nagisa raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He then gasped when Nagito handed him a Driver. "But Foundation X took mine." "I managed to find a new one for you," Nagito lied. In reality, it had been covertly sent to him by Miu, who had reverse engineered the original. "One thing, the activation phrase is different." Nagisa's eyes widened as he realized what Nagito was getting at. With this Driver, Nagisa wouldn't become an Armored Rider. He'd become a Kamen Rider.

To be continued...

 **My decision for this is based on one fact. In Danganronpa Zero, Yasuke tried to convince Junko to give up on her plans but failed and got killed for his trouble. Nagisa tried the same thing with Monaca, though he survived, if barely. In my story, Yasuke simply opposed Junko directly by fighting against her plans as a Kamen Rider, and as a result he came out okay. Now Nagisa will try the same thing. Let's see if he succeeds. Read and review.**


	58. Chapter 58: The Way We Live

**I've been having my fun with my Jojos, but people are asking for more of this, so here comes the next part like you wanted. Hopefully it will placate you while I work my way through my next Jojo arc. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 58: Way We Live, Paranoia, and the Ranger

As the Phantoms waited for a chance to delve into Haiji's heart, they got a request from Future Foundation. "Seems they want us to investigate potential Foundation X activity in the region surrounding Towa City," Skull said, "What's our call here? We still have that calling card to pick up on." "We still have some time before we have to make good on our warning," Mona replied, "Besides, even if we didn't, the rampant paranoia caused by The Tragedy means that a calling card from us is even more effective than normal. Haiji's cognition that we could strike at any time means we're another enemy to watch out for in his eyes. That'll make his Treasure nice and solid for a good long while."

"It doesn't hurt that we showed up on his doorstep and all but stated our intentions," Fox noted, "The fact that we're a more tangible threat is sure to increase our deadline. Before we had to act completely in silence because we could not take action outside the Metaverse, so we only had one day to act on our calling cards. But now the Metaverse and the real world are one and the same, expanding our ability to act." "It's kinda like Batman out in the west," Oracle said with a cheerful smile, "We hide in the shadows until it's time to put the final nail in the coffin."

* * *

Fumiko watched as her forces gathered resources from the mountains surrounding the city. They would need a lot to be able to create their army, after all robots didn't build themselves. _'That's the one thing humans can still be used for in a robotic military,'_ she thought, _'Construction and maintenance. There are some things that just require a human touch.'_ She then got an alert about intruders in the region. "Now what?," she said, "All the Kamen Riders should be preoccupied after the assault on the resistance base."

She got out her tablet to send a Robo to search. "Activate! Wasp Robo!" The giant humanoid wasp robot emerged from its casing. **"Preparing search area! Detect! Detect!"** "Don't bother!," came a familiar voice as nine calling cards struck the robo one-by-one, embedding themselves in its chassis. Once they were all in place, they exploded and caused the Robo to topple. Fumiko looked to see the nine Phantoms standing on a nearby hill in various poses that were rather flashy while still showing they meant business.

"Phantom Lady... Noir!" "Phantom Hacker... Oracle!" "Phantom Analyst... Queen!" "Phantom Artist... Fox!" "Phantom Actress... Panther!" "Phantom Striker... Skull!" "Phantom Technician... Mona!" "Phantom Smuggler... Church!" "Phantom Leader... Joker!" "We are the river in a dry land! The last ace in a lost hand! The heartbeat for a tin man! We are the Phantoms! And no one escapes our sight! Watch out, you'll never see us coming!"

They vanished into their respective elements before instantly appearing before Wasp Robo, eight of them blasting him with their firearms. Immediately it tried to fly away to get a better advantage. "Oh no you don't!," Mona called out, using Mercurius to create a gust that prevented the Robo from getting too far away. He then jumped into Church's hands, who immediately catapulted him to strike the Robo with his cutlass. "There's the opening," Joker said, "Take him out!"

The group struck at the Robo, decimating him with their weapons until they landed, Wasp Robo exploding in midair. "THE SHOW'S OVER!," Joker called out as he finished adjusting his gloves. "But our conflict isn't," Fumiko remarked as she left on her hover vehicle. "We took out the robots in this area," Church said, "But what were they doing here?" "Resource gathering no doubt," Queen suggested, "They need minerals and ores to build their machines." "I wonder how things are doing back in the city," Joker said.

* * *

"Well," W said, "We really should get Kanon back to the Resistance base. Hopefully by now the others have repaired the gate. Then again, what am I saying? Of course they've repaired the gate by now. Battalion is the Ultimate Mechanic, he's likely had it fixed for a while now." The two Riders took Kanon and headed through the nearby street. However, on the way there, they were accosted by more Monokumas. However, it seemed like they were alone this time, with no kids around.

"So were the kids really not controlling those things?," Kanon asked. "Looks that way," Sonic replied, "W, ready for action?" "This many shouldn't be a problem," W assured her, "Let's clear them out." Using their powers and a few nearby cars, the duo soon had the area cleared. "So dime a dozen," W complained, "The Trash Yummies were harder than this. But I'll admit it's cathartic to cause so much pain to the stupid bear that tried to make me and my friends kill each other."

Later on, another group of Bombers appeared from the nearby roof. "We'll have to shoot them down," Sonic said. "Gimme a second," W said as she swapped our her Memories. _**"Cyclone! Trigger!"**_ Nearby, they found a hit list card for Aloysius Pennyworth. "That's Byakuya's butler," W noted, "I guess the rest of his family doesn't qualify for an important person." "He's supposed to be near the Towa Bridge," Sonic noted, "But Yuta was the only one we found there."

"That bridge is still out," W said, "And unlike Yuta I doubt Pennyworth would think to swim, so he's likely still there. We'll get this to Hiroko as soon as we can." After a group of Balls attacked, the trio came upon a mountain of dead bodies. "So many were killed here," Kanon said in horror. "And more could join them if we don't stop Monaca," Sonic said, "If things continue along this way, Nagisa should be next, right?" "Not necessarily," W replied, "I've heard from OOO. Nagito reports that Nagisa may be having second thoughts."

* * *

Nagisa sat in a cafe elsewhere in the city, the Driver he got from Nagito in his hands. _'My parents only ever saw me as a test subject. The length of time I was forced to study and stay awake was unhealthy. I learned enough from my studies to know what they were doing was wrong, yet I went along with it because I wanted their approval. And when my father didn't get the results he wanted... I was deemed a failure instead of him suddenly realizing he was in the wrong.'_

He stood up. "I won't regret killing my parents. They were horrible people, and I've long realized that. But maybe it's time I stopped fearing that every adult could also turn out to be a demon. All kids grow up into adults sooner or later, and saying we'll kill ourselves before that happens? In hindsight, what Monaca is asking may be nothing short of genocide. Justice may hurt someone no matter what. But if they're bad people, then that doesn't sound like a bad thing." He held up the Driver. "Monaca, I'll stop you personally, no matter what it takes."

* * *

Soon enough the group reached a shrine in the middle of the city, which led to an underground passage. "Could this lead out of the city?," Sonic asked, "We may have to keep this in mind for later, but Kanon still has her bracelet." "Looks like we have a minute," came Nagito's voice as he approached. "How'd you get here?," W asked. "Monaca's headquarters connects to this place," Nagito explained, "It connects to a lot of places."

Sonic laughed. "And what's with the goofy writing all over your face?" "I may have caused her some irritation when she learned I knew about Nagisa's sudden disappearance," Nagito said, "She hasn't learned I was behind it, fortunately. As intelligent as she is, she's still a naive child. Though I did learn about her plan. She wants a war, a war that will help her create a new copy of the Junko Enoshima she remembers, rather than the one that really exists."

"How does she plan to do that?," W asked. Nagito shrugged. "It's a little involved. She had plans to use one of the captives and put them through a sort of 'hero's journey', but with a plot twist that would make said hero choose between saving the kids or adults in the city, the idea being that such a decision could drive them into despair and possibly make a new Ultimate Despair. The war was meant to be the next step."

He pointed to Sonic. "And you were the lucky duck she picked for this. Monaca knows her biggest threat is Hajime, and his greatest ally right now is Makoto. In her mind, she can cripple OOO by taking Birth out of the picture or even turning him against OOO, and having his sister become a new Ultimate Despair would be the perfect irony for that to be accomplished. But little did she realize, her plans have already been shut down. You see, the only way her plan could work is if her chosen candidate didn't have the will to choose a different path, or fight against her directly."

"But as a Kamen Rider," Sonic noted, "That's exactly what I can do. She's counting on an absence of will. But being a Kamen Rider means conquering your own fears and drawing strength from that. Anyway, we need to get back to the Resistance base, and let them know what's going on." "You can reach the sewers through a subway entrance near the blue building in the business district," Nagito said, "Best get moving, Monaca's making her next move soon. She's already working to make Nagisa's robot autonomous."

* * *

Just outside the shrine, another kid approached the Riders and handed them a challenge note. "I challenge you to a treasure hunt," Sonic read, "You look like a dummy, so I'll be nice and give you a hint. The treasure boxes drawn on the map, there are 3 letters written on the treasure box, X, T, and L. The odd box with the letter that looks like L but has am X is the real one. That's it, end of hint, WED. I wish you the best of luck."

"What do you wanna do?," W asked, "We still need to get to the subway." "Yeah, but this challenge may give us an item we need to get inside," Sonic argued, "Let's not forget Monaca is able to control the layout of the streets to a degree. For all we know she's found a way to lock the subway entrance." "Good point," W agreed, "Let's give it a try." They looked through the streets and soon came across a challenge room. The arcade machine showed several Guards as well as holograms and water.

Carefully using the holograms withe the Hover form, Sonic got the Guards right were she needed them before switching cartridges. _**"Lighting Form! Paralyze!"**_ After clearing the area using the Lightning shot, the group continued on. Soon enough, a group of Monokumas wearing flamethrowers that doubled as jetpacks came flying in, Destroyer Monokumas. "Do they not run out of different Monokumas!?," Kanon demanded. "Relax," Sonic said as she got out another cartridge, "I got this." _**"Burst Form! Burn!"**_

Using the Burst shot, Sonic easily took down the Destroyers with the rapid-fire form. After that, they started heading through the back alleys to move through the streets easily. Soon enough, they reached another challenge room. "These things are everywhere," Kanon noted, "Who made them all?" "Probably the Towa Foundation," W suggested, "Monaca wanted them built for a reason, after all." The room had a hologram machine set in water, along with a Siren and some Guards, along with regular Monokumas blocked by a car.

Using her various forms, Sonic found a way to take them all out using her Lightning shot. Just past the challenge area, they finally found the treasure box they were looking for. "Nice," Sonic said, "The map shows that this treasure box was near an upside-down L. And my Void form showed the box had an X on it. Pretty clever, but still no match for the Riddle Queen!" They continued searching through the streets until they found another challenge room.

Here there were Bombers and Destroyers. Using the Asteroid shot one Bomber to make it dance, then waiting until the other two were near the Destroyers, Sonic took out the dancing Bomber with her Drill form to take them all out with a chain explosion. Nearby was a hit list card for Fujiko Yamada, Hifumi's older sister. "I can't believe she's older than Hifumi," Sonic noted, "Just look at how young she looks." "Chihiro is younger than he looks too," W pointed out, "It's how he can pass as a girl so easily."

They soon caught sight of the building they were looking for, but in front of it was a challenge room with another hide and seek challenge. Carefully sneaking through the Beasts until she found the source of the singing, Sonic opened the case where the child was located, stunning the Beasts when the singing stopped. Soon enough they reached the subway, but it looked all torn up. "How will we get across from here?," Kanon asked. "This gap looks too big for even us to jump across," W noted.

"I got an idea," Sonic said, "See that Bomber over there?" She got out a new cartridge. "This one was specially made for environmental attacks. Like so." She inserted the cartridge and pulled the trigger on her Driver. _**"Link Set! Choose Target!"**_ She aimed her sidearm at the Bomber and fired, instantly hacking into it and taking control. She moved it near a weak spot in the nearby wall, then broke the link and changed to her standard form before destroying it, causing it to take out the wall.

Later down the path, they found another challenge room that seemed made for the Link system. Using the Link followed by an Asteroid shot on the Siren drew all the other Monokumas to a nearby wall, including a Bomber, which was destroyed to take out the others in one fell swoop. Further in was another challenge room, this time to break the floor with an explosion. Sonic saw a part of the floor that was weakened, and that looked like what the challenge was pointing at. Using a chain explosion, Sonic accomplished the challenge, turning part of the track on the collapsed floor into a make-shift ladder. "That'll lead us down," W noted.

* * *

Inside the sewers, more Monokumas were trying to get through the gate. They had already made several holes in what was clearly a reinforced door, but every time they tried to make it wider, another Monokuma got blasted. The few who made it inside were quickly turned into scrap. Inside, Ixa's voice could be heard. "Now you see? This is why it pays to reinforce your only method of entry." W and Sonic cleared out the Monokumas at the entrance before entering.

"Good," OOO said, "You guys are back. Turns out the reason Kanon got kidnapped was through a small hole in the back in the base." "We had to rely on Shirokuma to block it," Ixa said, "It was packed with explosives, but it's self-destruct switch got busted during the previous attack. The AI's still intact but the rest of its body was destroyed." "So what happens now?," Sonic asked, "It's clear this won't end unless we can stop Monaca." Birth chuckled. "Turns out that between the two attacks and the calling card from the Phantoms, Haiji's decided to man up and turn to his secret weapon."

"We've instructed the rest of the Resistance to stay here," Ixa said, "If Monaca gets her war then it'll only cause problems going forward. But if we can get people to accept that open war is not the way to combat despair, but calculated strikes against the source of the problem, it'll go a long way towards ending The Tragedy. And maybe allow Towa City to recover in the aftermath." "Then let's get on that," W replied, "Do we have any Ridevendors available?" "Follow us," OOO said.

* * *

After a race through the city to a grassy field on the edge of the city, Haiji noted something. "The rest of the Resistance isn't coming?" "We told them to stay where it's safe," Ixa explained, "After we made doubly sure no more Monokumas could break in. Monaca wants a war, and as much as I know you want to destroy them, those children wearing the masks don't deserve it. Maybe you'll understand that when the Phantoms finally get to you." Haiji gulped, as he still had the calling card with him.

"Anyway," Haiji said, "We just need to stand in this spot right here. Better get in close, it's a tight squeeze." As the Riders gathered around, Haiji pulled out a remote device and hit it, causing the square of grass they were on to lower into the ground. It turned out they were standing on an elevator. "We had to increase security," Haiji explained, "Only me and my old man can activate this elevator. Not even the kids know about it." The Riders looked at each other, sure that Monaca had to know an alternate way inside.

Once at the bottom, Haiji spoke up. "One thing I should mention. You guys obviously know it was my family's company that made the Monokumas. We used a revolutionary knew endoframe created by the genius inventor Miu Iruma as the base for it. It's capable of full articulation identical to living beings. However, ever since the riot we couldn't get ahold of the command center for the Monokumas, and they're likely to be guarding the place. Also, watch out for the lasers. They're harmless on their own, but breaking them will sound a general alert and get us surrounded."

The lasers on the central engine went in a circling pattern, but they couldn't pierce through walls and thus there spots to hide inside. Inside some of the rooms were pressure-sensitive buttons that required controlling a Monokuma to get everyone through. Inside, their was a hit list card for Fuhito Kirigiri, Kyoko's grandfather. "So he's at the Towa Bookstore," Joker noted, "At least, if this card is accurate. So far we've been able to rescue every captive who's card we found."

"You worried?," Birth asked. "Well, why wouldn't I be?," Joker replied, "It is my grandfather after all. Growing up, I was closer to him than my father... I really idolized him, and it was because of that admiration that I chose to become a detective myself." Nearby was another challenge room. "How did this get here!?," Haiji demanded, "There's no way those brats could've gotten inside!" "Are you so sure about that?," Sonic asked, "You thought the same about the Resistance hideout. Kids can be smarter than you give them credit for."

The challenged required taking out all the Monokumas at once, which included a Ball and a few Guards. There was a pit and a locked door that had to be bypassed using Sonic's Link system. After that, it was a simple matter of using Cube form to knock the Ball into the other Monokumas. Eventually, the group got to an elevator that let them go further down. Through this floor they found another challenge room, where Sonic had to use a hologram to draw a Monokuma close enough to Link with it and get it into the water. Then she used the Lightning form from the pressure door to take out the others, clearing the way.

Another nearby challenge room was far more involved. First was sneaking around to a point where she could use Link to control a normal Monokuma and get it to press a button. Then using a Hover shot on the nearby hologram to draw in the Bomber. Then a quick shot of the Cube hammer sent the Ball spiraling into the Bomber, taking out the rest of the group. "Hey W," Sonic asked, "I've been wondering, where did Syo even come from." "Oh that," W replied, "Well, I guess it might have something to do with my mothers."

Sonic blinked beneath her helmet. "As in... More than one?" "I kinda have two mothers," W explained, "On the same Toko was born there another baby, who died. On the surface, that's not so strange. Except the hospital where they were born couldn't figure out which baby belonged to which mother. They both refused a blood to make sure, since neither wanted their kid to survive. See, they both found that both of them had slept with my dad. Syo eventually came about because of Toko's repressed emotions. The best we can figure, Syo is the soul of the baby who died."

"Oh wow," Sonic said, "It must have been hard." "We only came to this conclusion recently," W noted, "When the two of us finally had a chance to talk with each other." The next floor had a major complication. On the one hand, all the lasers weren't moving. On the other, they were focused over the next elevator. "Now what?," Battalion asked. "We just need to get to the Management Room," Haiji assured him, "It's over there at the end of the conveyor."

However, inside they were greeted by a corpse. "I was afraid of this," Haiji said, "He's been killed by one of the Guard Monokumas that went haywire. To make matters worse, he's the only one who knew the password. Well, it's not over yet. He would've found some way to remember the password or leave it for others just in case of the worst scenario." They looked around and found several clues regarding the birthday of the man's son, leading to the password 0718.

With the lasers down, the Riders found another hit list card for Yohei Kiritani. "Who's this bum?," Haiji asked. "A former leader of Fenrir," OOO explained, "And the mentor of one of our schoolmates." Finally, the group entered the deepest part of the factory, where a giant Monokuma dressed in royal robes was found. "This is your last resort?," OOO demanded, "A giant version of the robots we've been fighting? This could cause far too much damage, and kill hundreds of innocents! Not just kids, but adults as well! It's not like the world runs on Super Sentai logic!"

Just then, a massive explosion rocked the room, and from the rubble stepped in a large tan robot with a desert cloak and skulls on its shoulders, and carrying a giant sniper rifle. 'Well, well, well. Looks like Big Brother's been naughty as usual,' came Monaca's voice a speaker inside the robot, 'I should have known you'd have such a powerful weapon at your disposal. Lucky for me you were always too cowardly to use it, and that I was able to control the Sage Robot, Hannibal X, using my magic skills. My only complaint is that no fighting is taking place. How did my magic not work this time?'

"Maybe because you're magic never existed," came Nagisa's voice. Haiji glared at the child, but OOO held him back with his Medajalibur. "One step in aggression towards him and you'll regret." 'Nagisa!,' Monaca said excitedly, 'I'm so glad you came! I was worried when you didn't show up after the Riders retrieved Kanon. I had so much to discuss with you.' "Too bad," Nagisa said, as he got out his new Driver, "Because I have nothing more to say to you." He placed the Driver on and hit a switch on the front. "Hen...Shin!"

Anyone watching from where Monaca was controlling Hannibal X would see her eyes go wide. 'Nagisa...' Nagisa was lifted into the air, and a silhouette of a more adult form appeared around him. In a flash of light, armor appeared over his form, creating an image not unlike an elvan archer, but in Kamen Rider form. "I am no longer Armored Rider Sage," he announced, "From now on, call me... Kamen Rider Ranger!" The anger was evident in Monaca's voice as she cried out, 'Nagisa!' A shot fired from Hannibal X's rifle, but Ranger countered with his own arm-mounted crossbow, destroying the shot.

"Well this is a twist," OOO noted as he got out his blue Medals, "But a new Rider is always welcome." _**"Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!"**_ The shots from Hannibal X proved useless against OOO's Shauta Combo, making it easy to wrap around the robot. Between that and Ranger's skillful shooting, aiming for a certain spot, it wasn't long before the Hannibal X was defeated. As it started to break down, it sent out a strange signal. "That should help remove the helmets from any children put under Monaca's influence," Ranger said, sighing relief.

"What the hell does that mean?," Haiji demanded. "Have you never thought about why this whole thing got started?," Ranger asked, "No, of course not. Much like your parents, you're a true Demon. Unlike all the other adults we've killed... They were likely good parents." He turned to the still active speaker. "You want to know something, Monaca. As much as I hate my parents, I do still owe them. It's because of them that I learned so much in such a short time. My only failing came from expectations I could never possibly fulfill. So while I don't regret killing my mother and father, I won't say all they did to me was bad. But I'm through being a naive puppet. And I'm tired of words that just won't get through. So if I can't convince you to give up your dark ways, then I'll simply oppose you!"

* * *

Monaca was listening, if barely. _'How is everything going so wrong?,'_ she thought, _'They've made plans to prevent my war. They've taken my chosen sister from me. They took Nagisa...'_ Something was welling up deep inside her. Like Junko before her, she was starting to feel true despair, and it was confusing her from how terrible it felt. But something inside her mind wouldn't let her stop fighting. Little did she realize, her actions were being dictated by the same AI that infected Junko, clinging to her from the moment she first knew despair from her neglectful family.

To be continued...

 **Yeah, we've got a similar situation to Junko. I'll delve more into the reasons for this in later chapters. But until then, I hope you like the debut for Kamen Rider Ranger. Honestly, I only ever expected to create sixteen Riders, but the way the story was unfolding just demanded a few more. Well, back to my Jojos for now. Read and review.**


	59. Chapter 59: Ultra Despair Girls

**Well, I promised to get this next chapter done, might as well get into it. I'm honestly looking forward to ending the Ultra Despair Girls arc, since there's some fun with Super Danganronpa 2 arc I wanna get into. Also it turns out I missed a hit list from the last chapter. Eh, we'll assume they picked it up at some point. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 59: Ultra Girls, Target, and the War's End

The Phantoms looked over the unconscious form of Foundation X member Z. Skull took his Driver and tossed it to Seiten Taisen, who promptly crushed it. "We have no time to waste on wannabe Armored Riders," Joker noted, "We should focus on our current target." Together the Phantoms slipped into the shared mental landscape of humanity, a cityscape called Collective that had replaced the Palace of Mementos. It was here that the Phantoms found themselves doing most of their work, as unlike Mementos, Collective actively worked to stop the production of Palaces.

Instead those who found themselves falling victim to distorted desires were isolated in fortified zones that only the Phantoms could enter and leave at will. Those who still had ambitious desires but didn't want them at the expense of others got special side zones called Fortresses, which were similar to a Palace except they only formed when a person awakened to their Persona. These Personas were the reason no new Palaces could be formed, and there were a lot of them traveling around Collective.

* * *

The Phantoms theft of Haiji's Treasure proved instant, as he found himself unable to continue the fight against Monaca. He wound up spilling everything he had done, but still seemed confused as to why Monaca would go this far when her revenge was complete. "Hey that's a good point," Sonic realized, "Monaca and the other warriors already got their revenge. Ranger, had anything weird changed in Monaca since you first got to know her?"

Ranger thought about it. "Come to think about it, shortly after Junko started babysitting us, Monaca suddenly became a lot more cheerful, a lot more confident. Like she no longer cared about what her parents did. Little by little she convinced to consider suicide, though Junko put a stop to that. I'm guessing it was just a ploy to determine how well she could control us." "Maybe she also got hit by AI Izuru," OOO suggested, "If we remove the bug, it might help her. Let's get to that flying fortress."

"The best way is through Towa Hills," Ranger said, "It's where we've been living while the game was going on." Inside, several of the robots from earlier were blocking the nearby doors. "Didn't OOO already destroy them?," W asked. "It's not like we expected them to be indestructible," Ranger noted, "We may be naive kids, but the concept of a machine breaking is very realistic to us. So we had several copies created just in case. The controls for them should be in our individual rooms."

The rooms in question were blocked by two more game rooms, but once solved they led to Jataro and Kotoko's rooms. "Hey Ranger," Battalion asked, "Just what is Monaca's robot like?" "I know the base design of it," Ranger said, "But it didn't seem to have any special abilities. Although, Monaca did install a modular network, which has ominous implications."

Soon enough, the group reached the upper floors, Battalion having to use his technical know-how to disable a retinal scanner. Finally they reached a game room where singing could be heard. "All these games rooms," Sonic noted, "Why did you build them?" "We thought there's no way any adult could solve them," Ranger explained, "That they'd waste too much time trying to solve the bigger picture and be forced to take out each Monokuma one at a time. I guess you're at a development age where you can still think like a kid. No wonder you call yourself the Riddle Queen."

"Oh, you heard that, huh?," Sonic said, a little proud of herself. Inside, the group got a shock. Kotoko, Jataro, and Masaru were hanging from a ceiling light, several Beasts below them. "Masaru, save me!," Kotoko called out, "Before these perverted bears have their way with me!" "I'm having a little trouble saving myself!," Masaru pointed out. "Can bears even be perverted?," Jataro asked. Kotoko sighed. "You're lucky you turned out to be so adorbs under that mask. It's called drama, remember?"

"What are you guys doing here?," Ranger asked. "Oh, Nagisa, is that you?," Kotoko asked, "We wanted to confront Monaca about all the crap she fed us. So we turned to this nice girl named Miu. A real sweetie, but maybe too perverted towards her robot boyfriend." "She gave us these wicked new Drivers to become Kamen Riders," Masaru said, "But we can't seem to activate them." "And we've been yelling 'Henge' at the top of our lungs," Jataro added. Nagisa facepalmed. "That's how you change into Armored Riders! Kamen Riders called out 'Henshin'!"

The trio looked at each other. "Oh... Henshin!" Three new Rider forms immediately descended to smash into the Beasts. Masaru called out, "Kamen Rider... Champion!" Kotoko called out, "Kamen Rider... Battler!" Jataro called out, "Kamen Rider... Caster!" Once the Beasts were taken out, the four friends reunited. "It's good to see you all safe," Ranger said, "But why did you come here?" "We've been doing a lot of talking," Battler said, "And a lot of what Monaca was telling us is starting to sound like BS."

"I mean, the adults at the flying base were all pretty nice," Caster noted, "Nothing at all like Demons." "So we started to think Monaca might not be invested in our paradise after all," Champion said, "Only having us fight in that game." Ranger nodded. "There's a reason for that. She only ever wanted to bring back the Big Sis Junko she knew. But Junko Enoshima is no longer brainwashed. However, what if Monaca is? Doesn't she seem a little strange compared to when we first met her?"

"I always thought so," Caster said, surprising Battler and Champion, "But no one else spoke up about it, so I never said anything." Soon enough, the group reached the upper floors, where things were looking pretty familiar. "There are way too many of you here," Monaca noted, as she arrived on her own personal robot, the Black Suspirian. The giant robot had weapons from the other four robots in addition to a giant scepter that Monaca was using like a throne.

"This path was meant Komaru alone," Monaca noted, "No outside help, save perhaps Toko to escort her and insure she'd make it this far alive. But there have too many interferences. You Kamen Riders... And the Phantoms. Now I'm left with nothing. My friends turned against me. My war over before it could even begin. My twisted choice removed. All I have left... Is this feeling of emptiness." "As I recall," OOO said, "Junko was feeling something similar. She too, confused that pleasant of hope for the despair she wanted more than anything. But once her plans started derailing in ways she didn't want, that despair became overpowering."

He got out his O Scanner and the red Medals. "Our goal is to end this Tragedy that you've been perpetuating. That is the desire of the people. And as the god of desires, I intend to see it done!" _**"Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!"**_ From below the building, people looked as OOO smashed Black Suspirian through the roof of Towa Hills, blasting off its various arms. "There's no way you can control this thing on your own," OOO noted, "Let's see what else we got in here."

He smashed one of his condor talons into the chest of the robot, eventually pulling out Kurokuma's head. "Hey, lemme go ya big palooka!" "If you insist," OOO snarked, as he dropped Kurokuma's head down to the ground. That caused the robot to start malfunctioning. "I think I've proven my point," OOO said as he grabbed Monaca and flew back down, as Black Suspirian crashed into the nearby building and blew up. As OOO flew, he felt something on the back of Monaca's neck, and pulled it off. "Thought so," he said, "One of Izuru's little personality modifiers. She must have slipped it on when Junko was babysitting Monaca." He looked at the young girl. "Let's see if this snaps you out, or if you really are just a straight sociopath."

To be continued...

 **Wanted to leave it on a cliffhanger. There is one final chapter to this arc, after all, which is basically the epilogue. Sorry if the pacing seems rushed, but consider that the Foundation X Armored Rider was up against nine superpowered thieves, and considering how badly OOO beat the other four robots, I don't think Black Suspirian would stand a chance when OOO went Tajador. Though I hope you do like how the other kids got to become Kamen Riders too. Read and review.**


	60. Chapter 60: The Changing World

**Well, I promised to get back at this, and I think I know the perfect segue way into the Super Danganronpa 2 arc. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 60: Changing World, Prisoner, and Rescue

At a local convenience store, a sanctioned brawl for bento was being held for people who needed food. As one tough guy went for a particularly tasty looking eel bento, he felt someone uppercut him. "Heaven Slaying Dragon Fist!" Chiaki had taken to sharpening her fighting skills, which she practiced by observing beat 'em up games, by using these brawls. Another guy tried to come up behind her, only to get shoulder tackled out of the way by a rather heavy-set man.

The man went to grab a hamburger steak bento, freeing the eel bento for Chiaki. "Uh, thanks." "You looked like you already had a target," the man said, "And since he was in the way of mine, I figured I could take out two birds with one stone." As they left, the man explained that he was one of the people who was changed because of Hajime's actions as OOO, and was now a member of the church honoring him. The news came on a nearby jumbotron at the point. 'The long siege that occurred after the riots in Towa City, long believed to be a strong bastion against The Tragedy, has finally ended.'

"I knew they could do it," Chiaki said. 'Though Future Foundation made no attempt to approach the island due to negative publicity as of late, the Kamen Rider team was able to infiltrate the island and bring about a peaceful resolution, rescuing fourteen hostages along the way. Additionally Haiji Towa, a long-time advocate for the rumors that Future Foundation and Foundation X were in league, has been exposed for numerous war crimes and propaganda spreading due to action taken by the Phantoms. A resistance movement he had formed to hold off the riots showed authorities one of the classic calling cards the Phantoms used in their early days.'

* * *

Izuru frowned. She had been hoping to retrieve the AIs from the two modified Monokumas, Kurokuma and Shirokuma, but they had been confiscated and would likely be destroyed. 'Actions are now being taken by Future Foundation to relocate civilians within Towa City, as Foundation X forces still seem to be focused on the city for unknown reasons.' "Because it'll be our perfect bastion," Izuru noted, "I'd better inform Fumiko of this."

* * *

The people of the city were being escorted out via several boats, the captives having their bracelets removed first. As the Riders oversaw the incident, suddenly more Monokumas and other robotic soldiers started to appear. "Right in the middle of the city," OOO said, "Riders, spread out and strike!" Fumiko was above the action, watching the heroes tear apart her forces. "Time for a new design to deal with them." She activated her tablet. "Siege Robo, activate!"

Sonic spotted a new crate fall onto the ground, and a robot with a castle motif appeared from within it. **"Escape Impossible! Detain! Detain!"** It moved to attack Sonic, who changed her cartridge. _**"Cube Form! Knockback!"**_ She blocked the attack with the Cube Form's added defense, smacking it away with the hammer weapon that came with the form. "Lemme show you some real siege warfare!," she called, striking the ground with the hammer. This brought up several blue cubes that she started kicking at the Robo, knocking it back.

Siege Robo revealed several cannons on its shoulders which it used to attack, but Sonic simply brought over one of her cubes, which proved indestructible as the cannon fire impacted harmlessly against it. She then leapt over the cube, firing her sidearm as she readied her hammer. The knockback effect stunned the Robo as it was struck over the head with the hammer, flipping it in the air. 'Sonic,' OOO said over the communicator, 'We have all the civilians out safely and we're pushing back the robotic forces.'

"Gotcha," Sonic said, "Just one last detail." She looked over to the staggered Robo and pulled the trigger on her Driver. _**"Link Ready!"**_ She struck the hammer down near Siege Robo. "Slam Foundation!" And entire tower of bricks formed under the Robo, damaging it from the contact energy until it exploded after several stories. Fumiko growled. "Those Riders are starting to annoy me. But at least we can start making a move to fully claim the city."

* * *

"There's no way to know for certain if Monaca was the same or not," Miaya noted, "I've interviewed her methodically, but the results are inconclusive. Children's minds are more malleable, so whatever changes there are could have remained." "Is there anyway to deal with this?," Hajime asked, "Nagisa wants to see her recover." "There may be one thing," Miaya said, "Thanks to support from the Kogami Corporation, and assistance from both Miu Iruma and Chihiro Fujisaki, we've been able to perfect the Neo World Program."

She brought up the simulation. "We can give Monaca a new set of memories, starting from when she first met the other four." "That almost sounds like brainwashing," Hajime noted. "I never said it was the moral high-ground," Miaya pointed out, "But honestly, it's more dangerous to leave her as is and take our chances." Hajime considered it. "Is there any chance she'll revert if she learns her memories are false?" Miaya shook her head. "The memories will be planted into her deepest subconscious. She may get mad, but she won't go back to her old self."

Hajime nodded. "Okay, but we'll need to set things up in a secluded location. And we'll need to have several people monitoring her. We'll also need a full diagnostic on the machine and how it works, and all information will be shared equally among the four groups fighting against Foundation X." Said groups were the Kamen Riders, the Church of Hajime, the Phantoms, and the Future Foundation. "I think I know where we can set it up," Miaya said, "We have a full base on Jabberwock Island. But who will monitor her progress." "Me and my friends," Hajime said simply.

To be continued...

 **And that concludes this chapter. We'll have more action, and some laughs, in the next arc. Read and review.**


	61. Chapter 61: Destination Despair

**I've been away from this for a while. Busy with the Jojos. But I've been getting bugged to return, so here I am. Here we get into the Super Danganronpa 2 arc, with some similarities, and some obvious changes. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 61: Destination, Casino, and a Party

The 77th class, minus Ryota who wanted to continue fighting against Foundation X more actively, arrived by boat to the island. "There it is," Nagito said, "It looks almost untouched by the chaotic despair going on outside, doesn't it?" Hajime nodded. "How's the new hand treating you?" When Monaca learned Nagito had been acting as a spy, she lashed out and wound up lopping off Nagito's left hand. Fortunately, Kazuichi was able to create a full-functional prosthetic replacement.

"Could be worse," Nagito admitted, "The other night I had a dream it was a girl's hand. No idea where that came from." "You're not the only one to suffer a lost body part," Hajime noted, "One of the battle bots during the retreat from Towa City? It caught Fuyuhiko before he could complete his transformation and slashed him through the eye. He wound up losing the cornea and needed a replacement of his own. The bot paid for it in the end, though. I've never seen Peko so angered."

Peko had joined the Riders as a representative of Future Foundation, and when she saw her master and lover struck down she flew into a rage, proving her Ultimate Swordswoman skills by effortlessly using her blade to cleave through the solid-steel chassis of the battle bot. Despite the loss of his eye, Fuyuhiko was able to recover and held Peko back while he got in a little revenge of his own as Kamen Rider Skull, his aim only marginally dampened due to a lack of depth perception. Later Miu had managed to fashion a perfect working replica eye to replace his old one.

Speaking of Fuyuhiko, he came up to the duo. "Cargo's still secure. Both living and otherwise. Hey Nagito, you've been around this kid the longest. Think this can work?" "It's a possibility," Nagito replied, "But the memory alteration needs to be deep. She's really been worked over." "And we'll need to keep in constant contact with the other teams," Hajime explained, "Having two groups working here at all times will help. Also the action will take time. Miaya mentioned we'll need fifty days to finish the alteration. We'll have to keep ourselves occupied until it's done." Fuyuhiko raised an eyebrow, causing Hajime to sigh. "Hopefully we'll find things to do besides _that_."

* * *

Meanwhile another battle was going on as the Phantoms found themselves having to deal with a squadron of mechs in the jungles on the outskirts of Towa City, which oddly included a casino that was jungle themed. Their goal was to infiltrate the island and work to prevent Foundation X from creating the bastion they wanted. So far so good, but Fumiko didn't make it easy. "Blasted Phantoms keep bothering our operations. Time for a new design. Roulette Robo, activate!" Another robo with a black and red checkerboard design and a giant wheel on its back.

"Let's hope this one isn't as rigged as the game in that casino Palace," Queen noted. **"Bet on black! Spin! Spin!"** "Spin this!," came a new voice as Kamen Rider Kuuga came in out of nowhere and attacked, knocking the Robo to the ground with a flying kick. "Wasn't expecting backup," Joker admitted, "But we'll take it." "Thanks," Kuuga said, "I've been looking for a chance to showcase something new I discovered about my powers." He breathed deep and focused, and all at once his suit turned black with gold trim and became more pronounced.

"This is Ultimate Kuuga," Kuuga explained, "Had to tone down the power a little to allow greater control, but it's still enough for this bucket of bolts." The Phantoms smiled as they joined Kuuga in smashing the robots, Kuuga easily handling Roulette Robo. The form proved capable of sheering through the steel chassis, as well as melting it a little with superhot flames. Kuuga also had access to his other three weapons, able to use them in combinations. As the damaged robo stumbled back, Kuuga leapt into the air as energy charged into his anklet. "Ultimate Kick!"

He launched a standing side-kick right into the robo, causing it blow up from the energy transfer almost as soon as it was struck. "That might have been a bit more powerful than necessary," Kuuga noted, "Guess there still needs to be some adjustments." "Either way it pushes back Foundation X," Fox noted, "And hopefully thins out their numbers." "If we could just capture Fumiko this would over fast," Skull pointed out, "But she always leaves when her big bot gets scraped." "We'll get our chance," Ryota said as he canceled his transformation, "I should check in with the others."

* * *

"Everything's set up," Kazuichi said, "We can have round the clock surveillance on the device at anytime from any building we're inside." "The first island is confirmed secure," Sonia said, "We've confirmed the beach, ranch, airport, supermarket, and hotel have no outside interference, including possible infiltrators." "That ranch had a lot of animals," Hiyoko noted, "And for some off reason a nearby slaughterhouse." "Hey, we'll still need food," Akane pointed out, "Though with our powers we can likely make it a painless death for those walking entrees."

"The market is fully stocked," Mikan confirmed, "Including several necessities." "It's got everything," Ibuki noted, "Including soda bottles that seem more like buckets of fizzy goodness." "We've triple-checked the security at the airport," Kazuichi said, "And made sure only planes we approve can approach." "Just to be safe the planes already here have had their engines removed by Kazuichi personally," Gundham added. "All our cottages are set up," Mahiru said, "With added locks. And each of has the only key to our own cottage."

"The hotel exterior has a good view for miles," Nekomaru noted, "And limited hiding spots." "Any that do exist are easy to flush out on the regular," Fuyuhiko said with a smirk, "I already checked them just to be safe." "We have our regular food delivery set-up," Teruteru noted, "So meals won't be an issue." "And we'll be sure to double-check the IDs on the staff who make the deliveries," Sonia added, "Anyone we don't recognize must have the proper paperwork, and it's been setup so it can't be replicated."

"The main lobby is set up as our primary surveillance base," Peko chimed in, "With verification required to access the feed." "And just in case, the camera feeds are hidden unless needed," Chiaki noted. "And the guard robots developed by Miu and built by Kazuichi are in place," Taro finished, "We have them set up around the island at the recently built bridges." Originally Jabberwock Island didn't have any bridges due to issues with the environment, but recently it became moot due to major ocean pollution.

* * *

With everything in place, the group decided to have a nice party to take their mind off things. Nagito was busy cleaning the old building next to the hotel while Teruteru cooked up a storm. Meanwhile Taro and Hajime were double-checking the equipment. "Let's see...," Hajime said, "Twenty forks, check. Twenty knives, check. Twenty spoons, check. Five iron skewers..." He saw only four being used for churrasco. "Where's the fifth?" "Right in here," Teruteru said. He reached over to a large meat on the bone and pulled one end. The bone turned out to have been cut and made into a grip for the last skewer.

"Obviously boned meat like the kind you see in Flintstones doesn't exist biologically," Teruteru explained, "But with my culinary knowledge I was able to make a pleasing dish that perfectly resembles it with what I had on hand." "Okay, that five iron skewers, check. Three frying pans, check. Twenty wine glasses, check. Two iron plates, check. And finally one portable stove, check." "The iron plate and portable stove are in perfect working order," Taro mentioned, "They should be usable."

"Considering how long we plan on having this party," Teruteru said, "I was planning on bringing it into the main lodge for a little hot pot. Reminisce over the good times we had during Hope's Peak. I'm glad it's still standing, but it's a shame what was going on behind our backs." "If we get the chance," Taro said, "Perhaps we Ultimates can remake it into the school it was always meant to be, the way the true Izuru Kamukura intended it." "That will only happen once The Tragedy is over and Foundation X is defeated," Hajime pointed out, "For now, let's look forward to the party."

* * *

The party got into full swing as a small storm started to brew outside. The food was laid out and people started digging in. However, things suddenly got dark when a the sound of thunder was heard, and the lights all went out. Everyone panicked for a second before a light was seen coming in. "Hey, what's going here!," Teruteru's voice called out, his face visible in the glow of the portable stove from the kitchen, "I thought the blackout was only in the kitchen!"

"Looks like something tripped the breakers in the old building," Kazuichi realized, "Luckily it's on a separate system from the security network and the Neo World Program." Hajime got out his Medal holder. "Teruteru, can you get my orange Medals and slot them in?" "Sure," Teruteru said. He carefully placed the Medals in the right spot and Hajime activate his O scanner. "Henshin!" _**"Cobra! Kame! Wani! Bura-Ka~~Wani!"**_

Now transformed, he could easily see around the lodge. "Teruteru, head outside and double-check all the systems. Take Taro with you. I'll head into the office in this building and reset the breakers." Teruteru nodded. Once Hajime got back from returning the lights, he got back in the lobby and freaked out at what he saw. Mikan was lying on the floor, her legs spread wide with a plate of food covering her crotch, her limbs tangled in sausages. "Sorry...," Mikan said, "When the lights went out, my old habit reared its ugly head."

"Let's get her up before Teruteru returns," Hajime suggested. They made it just in time, as Teruteru and Taro returned. "Let's hope that's the last scare tonight," Nagito said, "How are things looking?" "We did a hefty sweep across the six islands," Taro said, "Doesn't look like anyone's taking advantage of the confusion." Outside on the edge of the first island, the remains of an inactive tiger-like robot could be seen, having been ripped apart by the defenses set up by the four groups.

To be continued...

 **Had to get the Monobeasts in there somehow. Anyway, glad to get back into this. Hopefully I can get into the next chapter without as much time passing. Read and review.**


	62. Chapter 62: Sin and Coconuts

**Yep, back again. Chapter are getting slower, sorry. Once I get into my next major Kamen Rider project it should go a little faster. But anyway... Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 62: Coconuts, Swimsuits, and a Water Park

It was nineteen days until the program was completed. Kazuichi and Teruteru smiled as they each caught one half of a coconut sliced open by Peko. "Again I've slashed a worthless object," she quoted. "Don't taste very worthless to me," Teruteru said as he savored the coconut milk, "In fact, I think I may have just gotten inspiration for tonight's appetizers." The mysterious tiger mech had been found the morning after the party, and Kazuichi had started cannibalizing the parts to improve the point defense systems. The work had gotten him thirsty, which lead to him eyeing the coconuts growing naturally on the island.

Most of the group was on the second island. The locations here included the main security building, which only they could open by having all sixteen of them there at once, a large library, pharmacy, and a small diner with a beach house in the back. The girls were getting together for some major event there in the next few days. "How are things on the outside?," Peko asked. "Hard to say," Hajime said, "Actions are being taken, but with Foundation X still a major player it's slow progress. They're trying to consolidate their power in Towa City, and trying to slander our four groups."

The failure of Foundation X to create a war through Towa City was hurting their reputation and causing many people to rebel. In order to make up that public opinion, they sought to place all the blame for the The Tragedy on the four teams working to restore the world. It had varying levels of success depending on the group, and was only marginally effective in getting people in line.

* * *

Meanwhile, a large lime was waiting near an abandoned store, surrounded by the Crazy Diamond gang. Inside, Kiyotaka placed an IOU on the counter, listing all the food they had taken. "An IOU?," Mondo asked. "We cannot simply take all this food without explanation," Kiyotaka explained, "There may come a time when the store owner can return. But we also cannot leave anything of value, lest it be stolen by other food seekers who are less than honorable. An IOU is the best course of action."

Mondo shrugged. Kiyotaka had not been against what was essentially shoplifting on the grounds that the store was clearly abandoned, but still felt obliged to leave a explanation regardless. Inside the limo, Celestia was gentle nuzzling her beloved feline, who seemed to enjoy the snuggles. "Oh Grand Bois Cheri, Mama missed you," Celestia said, causing Gran Bois to mew in delight. The former captives were being taken to a private shelter just in case any servants of Foundation X or Izuru showed up to try and reclaim them for whatever reason.

"Aren't we missing two people?," Takaaki asked as his son and Mondo returned. "Father, don't forget Yasuke and Komaru are part of the Kamen Rider group. They can deal handle themselves." Takaaki nodded. Mondo got back on his bike as Kiyotaka got in the limo. Nearby, Izuru was looking over the scene. _'They've really covered all their bases.'_ She looked up to see attack choppers scanning the area around the limo. A quick scan of the cityscape showed snipers moving across the roofs. "Well, even if I could figure out a way to get at those former captives before it reached its safehouse, there's no reason to."

* * *

"Attempts to secure Towa City are meeting with frustration," Fumiko admitted to her superiors. 'We need control of the island before we can strip it of its resources,' came the voice on the other end, 'Otherwise our organization comes out looking like the bad guys. We must keep up the charade that we are the only ones keeping the world together. If people lose faith in us, it will give the four groups standing against us carte blanche to undo all our hard work and end The Tragedy.'

Fumiko the sniffed the air. "What smells like soup stock?" She then spotted the Naegi siblings, Makoto and Komaru, enjoying a couple bowls of oden. "We heard you got pushed out of the casino area and into the water park," Makoto explained, "This city really does have everything." Komaru downed the rest of the broth in her bowl and tossed it down. "I've still got six months of kidnapping blues to take out on you and your group. It got boring in there after a while. And I never got my Japanese-style breakfast!"

Makoto finished his own oden before the siblings jumped down. Fumiko scoffed. "If it's not Hajime being a thorn in our side, it's you two paragons of hope. Aqua Robo, activate!" From a nearby slide, a merman-looking robot appeared leaping into the air. **"Ready for splashdown! Dive! Dive!"** Makoto grinned as he flipped a Cell Medal, Komaru grabbing the trigger on her Driver. "Henshin!" _**"Gashapon Active!" "Drill Form! Break!"**_ Sonic flipped out the Asteroid cartridge. "Let's dance!" _**"Asteroid Form! Dance!"**_

(Search - BeForU "Dive")

As Sonic started blasting the robots, causing them to start dancing, Sonic also got into the groove, using the momentum to start knocking the asteroids she fired around. Birth also got into it, launching a few asteroids he got near like they were hot potatoes. Aqua Robo moved to attack, only to get smashed by some of Birth's Birth CLAWS, which were difficult for the Robo to dodge because of their magnetic nature.

"Sis, trade up!," he called out, pulling out his Birth Buster. "Gotcha!," Sonic replied. As Brith fired upon the weaker robots, Sonic leapt at Aqua Robo, pulling the trigger on her Driver. _**"Link Ready!"**_ Several meteors appeared and swirled around Sonic as she launched them right at the Robo. "Dynamite Rave!" The Robo was smashed several times before what was left exploded. Fumiko scoffed. "Such an annoyance." She walked off.

* * *

"I am normally not one to question a god," Gundham said, "But perhaps, Hajime, you might explain why we left Teruteru tied up in his cabin with only Taro to watch over him." Kazuichi had overheard the girls were planning on having a beach party. He invited Hajime, and Hajime insisted they invite Gundham. "I wanted to make sure Teruteru didn't get so much as a whiff of this," Hajime explained, "Give his perversions, do you really want him anywhere near the girls? Especially given what we're seeing."

Each of the girls was wearing a style of bikini that suited them, except Sonia who went for a wetsuit to avoid sun damage. Right now they were playing beach volleyball. Kazuichi had managed to convince them to come along by being at the meeting place, the diner, ahead of the group. "A fair point to be sure," Gundham admitted, "I was about ready to banish our lecherous classmate to the depths of the Second Circle if he made one more attempt to have Sonia, and I quote, suck the poison out of his loins."

"I may be a bit perverted myself, but that's a level I'll never stoop to," Kazuichi decided, "Sure I like looking at all that skin, but a man's got eyes after all. It'd be weird not to look. Especially with how grown-up Hiyoko's gotten." Meanwhile some of the other group was checking on the Neo World Program. "No signs of any major viruses," Fuyuhiko noted, "Then again, we made sure to destroy the AIs contained in the two Kuma bots." Meanwhile, a giant serpent robot had tried approaching near the main security building, only to be taken out by the very security system it was trying to invade.

To be continued...

 **For the record, the robots getting wrecked at the end of each of these chapters is the Monobeasts from the games. Let's face it, they'd be junked either way since we have five Kamen Riders on the island. Read and review.**


	63. Chapter 63: Ocean's Scent

**I might as well keep riding the wave here. Especially since my Jojo fanfic over at Fimfiction is nearing the fifth arc (covering Diamond is Unbreakable). But anyway... Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 63: Ocean's Scent, Commanding, and Happiness

Kazuo spoke with Jin as they walked through the Future Foundation building. "Only fifteen days to go and progress is looking good," Jin noted, "Images from the Neo World show Monaca is genuinely happy." "This project could be a coup for us," Kazuo said, "I doubt we'll ever use it again, the moral implications are too controversial, but it will show that we are capable of resorting the world." He stared out at the city of Tokyo, currently undergoing renovations.

"I'm reminded of something Hajime told me back before he was promoted to Ultimate," he said, "That not all forms of despair are evil. How cynical had I grown at that point, not to realize the truth of that before he brought it up? I just wanted Hope's Peak Academy to live up to its reputation. Did I perhaps go too far?" "I think we were all blinded to the Steering Committee's actions by our desires on the school," Jin admitted, "Even I fell victim to it when Kyoko was selected. My wish to expose the Steering Committee's actions were blindsided by fatherly pride."

* * *

"You saw _what_ now?," Hiyoko asked. Peko had been making some rounds through the hotel area and heard Mikan's voice. "She apparently had someone in her room. When I peered in the window, I saw it was Ryota. And neither of them had clothes on. She actually made mention of Ryota's breath... Tickling her..." "Oh, you don't know?," Sonia said, "Ryota comes by every night to comfort Mikan. She still gets nightmares about her old life, so he reminds her that she still has someone genuinely in love with her."

Meanwhile, some of the others were hanging around the third island. Here there was a hospital, a music venue called the "Titty Typhoon", a small motel, an electronics street, and a movie theater. Gundham was at the computer center of the electronics street, using one of the machines. "What's up, Gundham?," Taro asked. "I'm updating my personal website," Gundham explained, "Coordinating with my disciples across the world. By the mercy of causality, they have all escaped harm in this trying time."

Taro looked at the website. "A breeding program site?" "Merely the surface section that only mortals can see," Gundham bragged, keeping in character, "But it is the more important aspect at this time. My research has shown that a number of animals have been pushed to the brink of extinction by the damage The Tragedy has wrought. Since I have used my humble skills as a breeder to restore an endangered species before, I figured that once The Tragedy was over I could do so again on a lager scale. But such a scale would require assistance, even with my powers, hence why I am garnering aid from my disciples."

* * *

The next day was a big hub-bub. The group was gathering for a big celebration. As it happened, Peko was still in a blissful stupor. To all present, the entire 77th class, Fuyuhiko had up and proposed to Peko. She then completely broke her character, squeaking out a "yes" before fainting. Luckily Fuyuhiko had anticipated such a reaction and had Akane ready to catch her.

Ibuki suggested a music party to celebrate, but the group wasn't so sure about her musical selections. A year of listening to her heavy metal had desensitized them to it, but it still caught them off-guard with the misleading titles. Outside the music venue, Kazuichi was inspecting the remains of yet another robotic animal, this one resembling an eagle. "That's the third one so far. And they all have the Towa Conglomerate logo. Good thing we thought of flying enemies when we set up our defenses on the islands." He transformed into Battalion and he and Nekomaru started transporting the parts.

* * *

Izuru scoffed as she got confirmation of another destroyed mech. "How are we supposed to expose the Neo World if these so-called high-quality battle mechs can't even reach the central island?" "There may a problem with that," Fumiko said, "Seems the Neo World was leaked... By Future Foundation." "One of our moles?," Izuru asked. Fumiko shook her head. "No, I couldn't get in contact with any of them. It seems Future Foundation wants to make it clear they had no alternative with Monaca and are planning to never use this again."

They were out in the city, scouring for any remaining resources they could use and bringing more robotic troops. "We need to finish the final staging project soon," Fumiko said, "My bosses are getting annoyed at the loss in military strength. Robots may be more expendable, but they are also expensive to produce." Just then, several plasma shots rang out, destroying a few robot soldiers. The duo turned to see a group of what looked like Kamen Riders, led by Byakuya and Kyosuke.

"What are those?," Izuru asked. "Our new Riotroopers," Byakuya explained, "Remnants of the JSDF who wanted to join the fight against Foundation X, specially trained in the use of these powered suits. Pound for pound they are weaker than a regular Kamen Rider, but the numbers make up for it. Speaking of which... Kyosuke?" "Always a pleasure," Kyosuke said as he got out the Decade Driver. Byakuya got out his Ixa Driver. "Henshin!" _**"Fist On!" "Kamen Ride! Decade!"**_

"Activate Burst Mode!," Ixa called out, as his visor slid back to reveal bright red eyes. The previous Ixa always skipped straight to this mode, which was Ixa's primary attack mode. But Byakuya had always been confident in his ability to fight without it. Now however, he felt the numbers were sufficient to warrant the boost in attack and speed. Decade, meanwhile, got out a mobile device called a K-Touch and slid a card into it, sliding his finger across the screen. _**"Abaranger! Dekaranger! Magiranger! Boukenger! Gekiranger! Go-Onger! Shinkenger! Goseiger! Gokaiger! Final Kamen Ride! Decade!"**_

In a flash of energy, Decade's suit swapped colors to a silver and black striped style, with a large pink shoulder decoration holding nine cards with battle mechs on them. "Kamen Rider... Complete Decade!" "How close to a Robo do you have to be to control it?," Izuru asked. "Very close," Fumiko said, "But you don't need to stick around." Izuru nodded and hit her watch, pressing a button that called in an escape drone. "Still running when the chips are down," Decade noted. "We have more important issues in front of us," Ixa pointed out.

Fumiko activated her tablet. "Shadow Robo, activate!" From a nearby alley emerged a spikey black robo. **"Fall into shadows! Fall! Fall!"** Ixa got out his Ixa Calibur. "We'll see about that. Consider this a promise from the last remaining Togami... I will never fall before my time." He slash at the Robo, easily dodging its attacks as the Riotroopers and Decade provided support to keep the other robots off the fight. A strong blow from Ixa left Shadow Robo reeling. "Decade, now!"

Decade scanned a card into the K-Touch before slotting it in the Decade Driver that had moved to the side of his belt. _**"Gokaiger! Sentai Ride! GokaiOh!"**_ A multi-colored mech with a pirate ship motif appeared next to him, mimicking his moves. "Now for the final blow!" He slotted another card. _**"Final Attack Ride! G-G-G-Gokaiger!"**_ Compartments on the GokaiOh mech opened up, revealing a giant cannon with plenty of ammo. The mech fired upon the robo, quickly destroying it.

As it blew up, the two Riders spotted Fumiko also escaping with a drone. "They're heading close into the main city," Decade noted, "Right near the main Towa Conglomerate. Maybe they're looking for something important, they've been all over the island." "Perhaps," Ixa said, "Now that the island is clearing up we can start sending in agents to investigate. Foundation X is investing far too much time on this island. They must be working on a plan made by Izuru."

To be continued...

 **I realized I needed a reason why Foundation X kept sending troops to Towa City, so I came up with the idea that Izuru was making a grand final plan. As you may surmise, it's meant to continue The Tragedy and allow Foundation X to keep power. We'll see how well that works in the coming chapter. Read and review.**


	64. Chapter 64: Dream of Clockwork

**Even as I think of this chapter I smile because of all the fun things I have in store. I've been going through this island by island and now that we're up to the fourth, that means the amusement park. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 64: Clockwork, Funhouse, and the Siege

"Check it out! Check it out!," Ibuki said as the group hit the fourth island, "Work on the ultra-fun amusement park is complete! There's ride and snacks and tons of fun!" The island looked like one big fantasy world. "Come to think of it," Kazuichi said, "Monaca should be experiencing these islands too." "Who's her virtual supervisor?," Chiaki asked, "I know her friends are hooked up as well from an wireless source, but what about inside?" "Chihiro thought of that too," Kazuichi explained, "And she created AI versions of you and Hajime. The idea is that you're acting as surrogate parents."

"That brings up an interesting question," Teruteru said, "Hajime's a god now. So how does that effect his... Urges?" "I still have a physical form," Hajime reminded him. "Though he does make one good point," Chiaki said, "If we ever decide to have kids of our own, it means that child will be a demi-god. We could very well conceive a future Kamen Rider." Hajime put a hand to his chin. "Yeah, that is something to think about. But before we can think of our personal futures, we have the future of the world to preserve." "Of course this amusement park needs a good arcade," Chiaki said, "Preferably ones that allow for multiple people to play."

"There's plenty of other things to do," Nagito noted, "Like the funhouse. Apparently it's closer to an escape puzzle. The front entrance can only be opened from inside, so the only way in is the train on the outside. The idea is you challenge yourself to find the solution as quickly as possible, earning prizes depending on how quickly you succeed." "Did you see the large castle attraction?," Sonia asked, her eyes sparkling, "It's much bigger than my family's palace." "The interior has several levels with various recreations," Gundham said, "The dungeons hold a horror house, the first floor is a museum, the second floor holds a food court, and the top floor has a vast arcade."

"And now the park is complete," Chiaki noted. "There's also a roller coaster!," Akane said, "Hey, let's go on that together." "This is most exciting," Sonia said, "I have never been to a amusement park. My country is too small for such frivolities and my duties as princess of Novoselic meant I was never able to enjoy them traveling abroad. What of you Gundham?" "Only once did I travel to an amusement park in my youth," Gundham replied, "It was a happy memory." He chuckled, and the group got ready for another "Gundham moment".

"It was an amusement park in hell," he boasted, "Filled with man-eating demons!" "That sounds exciting!," Sonia declared, "Perhaps I can accompany you next time!" Gundham chuckled. "Very well, but the price of admission is a virgin's blood." Sonia looked confused. "Um... Given my recent understanding of different cultures, I'll need some context for that." "Basically the blood of a maidenhead," Gundham clarified. Sonia sighed. "As I feared... Then it seems I cannot join you." Hajime shook his head as he smiled. It was clear this was just Gundham being Gundham, and he would likely make some excuse for Sonia to be able to join him, but it was amusing to watch.

"So," Chiaki said, "Are we getting on the coaster?" Most of the group wanted to try, but Kazuichi seemed reluctant. "No way am I getting on the high-speed death trap." "Doesn't your Jager form give you faster speeds?," Hiyoko pointed out. "Yeah but I can control myself then," Kazuichi argued, "I don't care if this coaster has a track, that's not gonna stop it from derailing." "But we agreed to do this as a group," Hajime reminded him. "I'll say it again," Kazuichi said, "I ain't getting on." Hajime shrugged. "Bad idea to defy a god. Looks like you'll need punishment. Nekomaru?"

Kazuichi then found himself getting lifted up by Nekomaru and strapped into the seat of the coaster. "You gotta be kidding...," Kazuichi muttered. "A bit tame for a god's vengeance," Gundham noted. "Hey, I'm the god of desire, not the god of divine retribution," Hajime reminded him. The coaster was exciting for some, terrifying for others. A women's scream could be heard at one point, but Kazuichi admitted it was actually him. "Please tell me the train ride to the funhouse is less stressful. My mind needs exercise right now to make sure it hasn't been scrambled like the eggs in Teruteru's omelet."

"Do we even have time to be trying the funhouse?," Fuyuhiko asked. "It's cool," Akane said, "Some members of Future Foundation stopped by to check on the Neo World. And we promptly made sure they had required background checks, mental checks, and so many other checks. Can't believe we're only nine days away. Anyway, they're still overseeing the program." The train headed into a tunnel that was too dark to see in. A door finally opened up, letting the group into a large playground with strawberries on the wall. The entire area looked pinkish-red.

"We must be on a higher floor," Peko noted, "During the train ride I felt a small incline as the train reached the end." "There's a map over here," Chiaki said, "This place is called Strawberry House. Seems there are three floors with several rooms, fashioned like a hotel. There's also a place called the 'Final Dead Room'. Clearing it can lead to the solution to escaping the funhouse." The group explored the three floors, encountering a large tower at the end of the first floor. There was also a contact elevator, an elevator designed to move in more directions than just up and down, which connected to the other house, called Grape House.

Grape House also had three floors, and another tower. "Judging from the map," Fuyuhiko said, "Both the Grape Tower and Strawberry Tower are the same." "The colored lights and neon sign under the floor," Kazuichi said, "So the door with the strawberries on it must lead to Strawberry House. The tower can only be opened from the outside." The tower was designed so that it could only open from either Strawberry House or Grape House, and when one door opened the other closed. Also, switching towers was impossible while someone was inside. "That seems too obvious though," Hajime said, "There are no other exits that we've seen, and there's still the Final Dead Room to consider."

"Then that room holds either the way out," Kazuichi replied, "Or something that refutes what we know and leads to an alternate exit." The room would only allow two people in at once, but once solved it would allow everyone in like it was just another room. Hajime and Nagito decided to give it a try. The entrance locked once they were inside and they took a look around. "Looks like something from Spike Chunsoft's Nonery Game series," Nagito noted. He looked at the walls. "Numbers written in fake blood. And a message... 'Watch the NEWS'. With the word news in all caps it clear it's making a reference to cardinal directions."

"So we need the numbers for north, east, west, and south," Hajime said, "But without a marker in the room we don't know which way is considered north for this puzzle, and only three of the walls have numbers. I also see a code device, but no way to input any sort of code. Unless there's a way to remove the lid." "And what's with the flashing lights?," Nagito asked, "It seems to be a repetitive pattern, so it's obviously not random. We should keep it mind for later." He then saw a symbol on the floor below the door they entered. "Ah, and here's the marker indicating north. Now we have a reference point for the code."

Hajime opened a closet in the room. "And here's the last number we need for the code. So, taking the marker into account as pointing north, and noting the number on the east wall is actually a nine upside-down due to the marker near the ceiling, we have a code of 3957. There's also a single hanger in this closet. Such a odd placement means it's not in here by coincidence." He took the hanger. Nagito then tried the code they assembled on a combination safe below the message. "Looks like it worked. We have a digital camera and a USB stick. Hey, maybe we can keep the camera and gift it to Mahiru later."

He frowned. "As soon as we find a battery for it." Hajime was looking under the bed. "There's something under here. But it's too far in to reach and I can't move the bed." "Normally I'd suggest using your Kamen Rider powers," Nagito said, "That is your Ultimate talent after all. But I think it'd be more rewarding if we solve this room the correct way. So let's see what else is around here." He glared at the Monokuma plushie in the room. "We don't see hide or hair of that robot since Towa City and here he is. I wish we could find something to cut this bear open. But until then..."

He flexed his robotic hand and plowed his fist into the plushie's stomach. "Thrills! Chills! Kills!," it spoke. "Oh, so it has a voice module," Nagito said, "Looks like we'll get to cut him open after all. I mean, if we has a voice module, that means he needs a battery to operate it. And we need a battery for the camera." He walked over to the desk. "The TV's busted, so it's probably just for aesthetic, but let's see if there's anything in the drawers." The left-hand drawer was locked, but the middle drawer held some pliers, and the right-hand drawer had a card with a code key.

"What could these be referring to?," Hajime wondered, "I doubt it's as simple as the days of the week, or some of the letters wouldn't be blacked out." The last thing in the room to check out was a laptop, but it was locked out. "No way to even input a password," Nagito said, "But at least we have a good idea of the room's layout. So, how do we solve this?" "Let's start by using the USB on the laptop," Hajime suggested, "That may unlock it." "That works," Nagito said when he tried it, "But we still need the password. Something in the room may help us with the code key."

Hajime then took the pliers and used them to untie the hanger into a long, thin wire. "Just like in Chiaki's games," he said, "Sometimes items go together." With a little work, Hajime was able to grab the item, which turned out to be a key. "This must go to the locked drawer in the desk." Inside the drawer was a pair of scissors. "I know what we do with these." He took the scissors and cut into the Monokuma plushie, removing a pair of batteries. Using them on the digital camera revealed a picture already stored, which showed a map of the solar system, or at least up until Saturn.

"Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn," he noted, "This must have something to do with the code key." "If that's the case," Nagito said, "Then the password for the computer must be SMVEMJS." The password worked, revealing an Othello puzzle. He and Hajime between it and the blinking lights on the locked code pad. "I think I got the code," Nagito said, "But the only thing we can really use it on is the safe from earlier." "Maybe it will accept a second code," Hajime suggested. Sure enough, the code unlocked the code pad, but it only had a keyhole under the lid.

"It already reused one gimmick," Nagito noted, "Why not another? The USB stick does resemble a key." He turned the USB in the keyhole, and the doors instantly opened on both ends of the room, letting the others in. "Nice job," Chiaki said, "Let's look inside the next room." The room, called the octagon, looked like it came from a warehouse. There was a small trapdoor in the floor, and a single window. Hajime looked out this window and saw something.

"Hold on," he said, "We're supposedly on the first floor of the funhouse, but this view is too high up. I mean, it's above the treeline. And there's no sign of Grape House in spite of the fact that I can see the tower from here." The others looked out the window. "Maybe we were fooled by the orientation of the maps," Kazuichi suggested, "They were arranged to look like they were across from each other." "I think it's safe to say where Grape House is," Nagito said, "Right below us. We thought we were on the first floor of the funhouse, but we're actually on the fourth floor."

"Then the tower is actually a large elevator," Gundham realized, "One where only the floor moves. But how does this account for the contact elevator?" "The notice said the elevator can move sideways," Kazuichi said, "But it never said the elevator still wouldn't move vertically like a normal elevator. Maybe it wraps around the outside of the funhouse." "The train as well," Peko realized, "The incline only happened at the end of the ride, to make it obvious we were moving up. But the tunnel was pitch black. We could have been elevated at any point and not realized it due to the smooth ride."

"That would have been a sharp elevation," Nekomaru noted, "But so long as the machinery was silent we'd be none the wiser." "From all this," Hajime said, "I'd say the exit from the funhouse is in Grape Tower, out the door that we thought lead to Strawberry House." They headed for that door and found it opened easily, allowing the group to leave. One of the Future Foundation representatives was there to greet them. "Just wanted to bring you up to speed," he said, "So far no problem's with the Neo World. Additionally, Plans are in place to lay siege to Towa City."

"Lay siege to the city?," Mikan asked, "Why go that far?" "Foundation X is still heavily ingrained there," the agent explained, "And efforts to infiltrate the island have suggested that Foundation X and Izuru have plans to use it as a staging area for some major plan, likely one meant to extend The Tragedy. The longer it goes on, the longer Foundation X stays in power. Luckily mass production on the Riotrooper Drivers is complete." Hajime nodded. "Thanks for informing us."

* * *

Fumiko looked as the Riotrooper forces surged into the city, blasting at the robotic forces without impunity. _'Our need to prove our technological advancement is proving to be our downfall,'_ she thought to herself, _'If people outside see Future Foundation destroying robots designed for war, they'll be seen as heroes.'_ "Time to bring out a stronger foe," she decided as she got her tablet, "Gravity Robo, activate!" A spherical robot with floating limbs hovered down. **"I control the environment! Pull! Pull!"**

As the Robo started using the nearby gravity to try turning the tide of the battle, it got knocked aside by Sonic. "Nice try!," she said, "But I'm not about to let you manipulate this fight!" She got out the Detect cartridge and pulled the trigger on her Driver. _**"Void Form! Detect!"**_ Gravity Robo tried to use its abilities on her, but the Void power let her ignore gravitational pulls, letting her attack the mech without issue. And the Robo seemed ill-prepared to fight hand-to-hand.

Finally, the Robo seemed to topple as the other robots started to stagger, letting the Riotroopers press the attack. Sonic pulled her Driver's trigger again. _**"Link Ready!"**_ Gravity Robo was lifted up in an spherical energy trap, Sonic's sidearm shifting to blade mode. "Dimension Crash!" Sonic slashed through the sphere, causing it explode and take the Robo with it.

'Nice work, Sonic,' came Tengan's voice over the communicator, 'I was concerned when that Robo showed up, but now Operation Big Wave can proceed. I'm getting reports that we're already pushing Foundation X forces toward the heart of the city.' "That may be where they're making their plans," Sonic noted, "Time is of the essence here. We need to figure out what they're doing." 'Indeed,' Tengan said, 'And hopefully that will be soon. We've had a report that a horse-like mech tried to infiltrate Jabberwock island, only to fall victim to the security system. I'm worried our enemy knows what we're up to.'

To be continued...

 **The conflict is starting to come to a head and only a few days remain to see if the program works on Monaca. Read and review.**


	65. Chapter 65: Smile at Hope

**We're nearing the end of this arc, just two chapters to go. And good news, I have an idea for an endgame plan that may prove interesting. To that end, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 65: Smiles, Soldiers, and the Military Base

Izuru frowned as she looked over the battle. Despite all the various talents she collected as an AI, it seemed Sato's physical form was not suitable to use them to their full potential. _'If only Hajime had not proven to have an Ultimate talent of his own. His form would have been perfect for maximizing my talents.'_ In spite of the downgrade, Izuru was able to keep Future Foundation's Riotroopers at bay. "Fumiko, how's the status on the last Monobeast?"

"It's already been sent out," Fumiko said, "So far we lost four of the five Monobeasts we had, and we're cut off from the factory we used to create them in the first place. If I may ask, why are we trying to retrieve Monaca? She's proven useless to our cause." "Not yet she hasn't," Izuru clarified, "Yes her failure means we can no longer use her to fight our enemies, but she still has access to the Towa Foundation's technology and properties. It's taking our agents some time to gain access to the giant mech we found in the underground chamber, but with her we could get that access much easier."

* * *

Meanwhile on the outskirts of the fight, Kibo was using his gear to take out the robotic soldiers, clearing a path for the Riotroopers. "HQ, this is Idabashi. Enemy forces in retreat near the Towa Tower. Possible staging there. Requesting assistance." 'Copy that, Idabashi,' came the voice on the other end, 'W and Sonic are on their way.' As he waited, Kibo spotted the Gifted Inmates Academy not far away. _'We could have stayed there in comfort,'_ he thought, _'But something told us our talents were better spend helping against despair. Oddly, the moral choice proved to also be the logical choice, a rare thing in this world.'_

* * *

The group was gathered on the fifth island, which held a few building. A Sea King Industries factory, military base, assembly line for Candroids, and a street with food vendors. Chiaki was elsewhere, contacting the other heads of the Future Foundation, Chiaki herself being the head of the fourteenth division, which dealt with public relations. Hajime saw the class getting some photos together, all of which he recognized as occurring after he joined the class

Ibuki picked up one picture and smile, her image in the picture smiling right back. It was a picture of the group at a ski resort. Hajime chuckled as he spotted Gundham riding on a reindeer, and Nekomaru using a snowboard so big and rectangular he could swear it used to be a door. In fact, on closer inspection it seems it was. There was also Akane taking Teruteru for a spin in a snowball. "Man that was an awesome trip." "Here's another I remember fondly," Hajime said.

It was a picture of the group at a firework festival, the class all dressed up in yukatas. Chiaki and Hajime were sitting together here. Hajime blinked when he saw Mikan frozen in mid-slip in the picture. "I guess I was too distracted by the fireworks to see or her that." "Hiyoko sure noticed," Ibuki said, "Mikan wound up slipping right into her." Hajime chuckled. "And look at Nagito. It's rare to see him so calm."

"Hey, here's a fun one," Ibuki said, "It's that time me, Hiyoko and Chiaki were doing that music event." Hajime laughed nervously. "Yeah, I had to wear earplugs to take this picture, because Mahiru wanted to see Hiyoko's dance. But wow, I'd forgotten how short Hiyoko used to be." "Seriously, it's like night and day when compare her now," Ibuki noted, "And hey, here's that festival." She grimaced at the sight of Fuyuhiko with one eye closed. "In hindsight this seems like foreshadowing."

"That's not the only foreshadowing," Hajime noted, "Look, there's Sonia and Gundham in the background. The start of their romance, perhaps?" Ibuki shrugged. "Maybe. Oh, and look at the giant teddy bear Nagito won. The only reason he didn't clean the place out was because he thought it might be terrible for others who wanted prizes. But the real gem is Peko. Look at her, this might one of the few times she was able to enjoy being a normal girl." She chuckled. "And then there was this picture from the Christmas party."

Hajime laughed. "Yeah. I still don't know how we convinced Mikan to wear that Santa outfit. She was pulling that skirt so low I was afraid the top would pop off." Ibuki laughed. "Man, that would have been a sight! Of course it didn't help that one of Gundham's hamster found it way into her dress from the top! Even Hiyoko wasn't upset that she tripped again, since this time it was justified!"

"And here's the photo from the hot springs trip," Hajime said, "Hey, who is Taro talking to on the phone?" "Probably Ryota," Ibuki said, "I think this was around the time he became Kuuga and wanted to balance his training with his animation work. Taro was offering to help with that so the poor guy could get some sleep and maybe some grub." She grinned at the pillow fight Akane started. "This is probably the only time Kazuichi ever beat Akane in a fight."

"You've never seen us train," Hajime noted, "Hey, here's that time on the beach. Akane was fighting sharks, Gundham was taming dolphins, and Mikan was doing her best not to end up in a hentai." Ibuki snickered. "I think that octopus had bigger priorities, like not winding up in Teruteru's takoyaki." She picked up a more recent picture. "Hey, here's that sports festival. This is after Hiyoko had her growth spurt." "Yeah," Hajime said, "And me, Sonia, Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi, Akane, and even Ryota were leaving everyone else in the dust."

"And here's one final picture," Ibuki said, "This was the day before everything went crazy. Y'know, our last real day of peace. It kinda seems far away, and yet not so far away that we can't get there again." Hajime sighed. "We'll get there again, some day." Hoping to lighten up the mood, he got a picture that featured the class hanging out at the same fountain he and Chiaki always hung out at. "Here's another happy memory. Me and Chiaki wanted to show everyone where we were always going."

Ibuki laughed. "And here's that Halloween party. Gundham and Sonia really make quite a pair. I'm still counting the days until we start calling her 'Mrs Tanaka'." She then held up a final picture. "And here's that New Year's celebration we had after you joined us." "Yeah, you were really exuberant about ringing that chime," Hajime noted, "But what are you doing with all these photos?" "We're getting them copied and doing something special with the scrap from the copies," Mahiru explained. When Chiaki returned to the hotel, she gasped in surprise. The twelve pictures were surrounding a collage made from the copies, which depicted her holding up a side-sided star.

"Wow, you made this just for me?," Chiaki asked. "It's the only thing we could get," Akane admitted, "I don't know if you remember, but today is a very special day." "It's the day you were first made our class representative," Nagito reminded her, "Hajime may have prevented us from falling to despair, but it's you who keeps our spirits up. In a way, it's like you and Hajime are the glue that hold us together. We could handle losing one of you, well mostly since it would sadden us to lose a friend, but we'd fall apart without both of you." Chiaki smiled.

* * *

Back at the battle for Towa City, W and Sonic were fighting against the modified Armored Riders. Of course, the five Riders were less effective since the black Medals couldn't be replicated and there no more copies of the Fenrir Driver. A group of Robots was nearby as well. Mage was knocked back as W and Sonic leapt into the air. _**"Joker! Maximum Drive!" "Link Ready!"**_ A small tornado surrounded W while Sonic got a large drill on her right leg.

They came screaming on their Rider Kicks. "Ace Extreme!" "Break Kick!" The attack hit home, knocking the Armored Rider across the room. The two Kamen Riders then defending against the combined attacks of Hero and Warrior, swapping forms as they did. _**"Heat! Metal!" "Burst Form! Burn!"**_ Knocking their foes aside, they readied another finisher. _**"Metal! Maximum Drive!" "Link Ready!"**_ W had the Metal Memory inserted into her staff, while Sonic's fist caught flames.

"Metal Branding!" "Blazing Cannon!" The two attacks struck and defeated the two enemy Riders. The final Armored Riders, Sage and Priest, moved to attack next, but the two Kamen Riders were ready. _**"Luna! Trigger!" "Asteroid Form! Dance!"**_ "Ready to finish this?," W asked. "Definitely," Sonic replied. _**"Trigger! Maximum Drive!" "Link Ready!"**_ The two Armored Riders saw the attacks charging and tried to run, but to no avail. "Trigger Full Burst!" "Dynamite Rave!"

As the last two Armored Riders went down from the barrage, Riotroopers moved in as the Foundation X agents were de-transformed, confiscating their Drivers. Up above, Izuru scoffed. "What's the status on the final Monobeast?," she said into a communicator. 'We lost contact with it,' came the voice on the other end, 'The scanners were able to search all five island but there's no sign of the Neo World Program.' "It has to be there somewhere," she asserted, "A physical search could have turned it up. We have five days before Monaca is finished in there. If the program finished with her inside... We may lose her as an asset."

To be continued...

 **The whole thing with the collage is a throwback to the ending of Danganronpa 3 Side Despair. Though you'll have to use your imagination to insert Hajime and Ryota, depending on your feelings. We end the Super Danganronpa 2 arc next chapter. Read and review.**


	66. Chapter 66: Goodbye Despair

**Here we have the final chapter. This will include some final moments that lead into the next arc, which is essentially the Danganronpa 3 arc. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 66: Goodbyes, Decisions, and War

Monaca floated through space as the Neo World finished. "Hope... Despair... Caught in a never-ending battle as the world progresses. But in the end, while despair can always exist, it can never win. But that's important, right? We need hope to keep going, but we need despair to ground us." She smiled. "I've been naive. For all my intelligence, I'm still just a child in the end. And I was so caught up in wanting to stay that way that I never bothered to know what it's like to grow up. But that's because... I had pretty shitty role models before now." A warm light enveloped her.

* * *

As her eyes flickered open, she gasped. Right there waiting for her as she emerged from the pod, were her friends. "Masaru...! Kotoko...! Jataro...! Nagisa...! You were waiting here?" "Not the whole time," Masaru admitted, "But when we heard you were about to wake up, we asked to come see you." Kotoko squealed. "I just love that new look in your eyes! So adorbs!" "Nagisa was especially eager to see you again," Jataro said. "You don't have to tell her that!," Nagisa called out, blushing. Monaca felt herself getting flustered too.

"Uh oh," Jataro said, "I think you're burning up. Should I use my burn heal magic?" Monaca started chuckling, before giving a light-hearted laugh. The others couldn't help but smile at her when they heard it. "It's so great to see you guys again! And..." She frowned. "I'm sorry about everything... I kinda remember, kinda don't, but the AIs that were helping me inside the computer explained everything." She closed her eyes. "I can never regret killing my parents, but I do regret having to do it in the first place."

"We all feel the same," Kotoko admitted, "In fact, not even Future Foundation blames us for that much. It's just everything else they're mad at." "So how do you feel?," Jataro asked. Suddenly, Monaca stomach started growling. "Oh," Jataro noted, "So you feel hungry. Didn't you get food inside the program?" "It's not really the same," Nagisa pointed out, "Though it was set up so physical issues are non-existent." "And I could use some real food." "Then get ready for awesomeness!," Masaru said, "Because Teruteru is the one making a special feast in celebration of this event!"

* * *

Teruteru certainly went all out for the spread. Various kinds of steaks, soups, vegetables, rice balls, and all manner of dishes were laid out. Miaya did a final check on Monaca and confirmed the program was a success. "Then it looks like we've taken a major step against Foundation X," Hajime said, "Without Monaca, they'll have a harder time gaining access to the Towa Foundation's tech." "They'll get in eventually," Monaca pointed out, "They haven't had much time to since update their security since I killed my dad."

"Well in the meantime the division heads of the Future Foundation will be meeting at our main headquarters," Taro said, "Especially with a rising issue. Thanks to the Phantoms we've been able to weed out all of the moles in our organization, but now they'll be trying to fight back. We need to focus out efforts." "Speaking of the Phantoms," Hajime said, "Don't you have them infiltrating Towa City again?" "Yeah," Miaya said, "We need to determine what Izuru's game plan is going forward, and Oracle thinks she may have located something."

* * *

Fumiko was going over the final solution plan. "You're sure you finished the animation as needed, Izuru?" Izuru was speaking over a terminal. 'It won't work on anyone that was affected by the black Medals then released before the creature spawned wore down, but by my calculations it should affect the majority of the world. The only thing missing is the opposite animation that Ryota developed to counter despair. With that, Foundation X can undo the damage and insure the world follows their rule unquestioned.'

Just then, an alarm sounded in the building. "Now what?," Fumiko asked as she checked the monitors. She grimaced when she saw the Phantoms running through the hallways, their leader holding an IO disk in his hand. "Talk about terrible timing," Fumiko said as she grabbed her tablet and activated it. "Chemical Robo, activate!" The Phantoms spotted the Robo, covered in pumps and faucets, leaping at them while spraying liquids. The group quickly scattered as Skull launched an electric attack, taking advantage of the liquid to fry the Chemical Robo internally.

"We really don't have to be messing around here," Joker pointed out, "So you'll excuse us if we trash your bot and run for it. Church?" Church revved up her gatling gun and took aim. "Insert pointless Terminator quote here." And with that, she began firing, the rounds being enhanced by her own Persona energy, letting it cut through the Chemical Robo with ease. As the Robo exploded, the group leapt out the nearby window. "Damn it!," Fumiko called out. She contacted her subordinates. "Get Izuru back on the line! Our timetable just got moved up..."

* * *

Izuru got the word shortly after and grimaced. It was clear her plans would have to accelerate if she hoped to catch everyone off-guard. Because the Phantoms delivered those plans to Future Foundation, that's when everything would go downhill. _'Luckily I thought to include a few sleeper agents. While all of my moles have been ratted out, that doesn't mean I still can't attack Future Foundation from within.'_ She picked up the list of numbers.

For this plan, she selected a handful of Hope's Peak Academy alumni, then subjected them to the alterations that would turn them into disciples of despair. After that, she altered their memories so they wouldn't remember this unless she said a specific code phrase. She dialed the first number. With this, the final plan could go into effect. Hopefully, she could finally out-flank all her enemies and confirm her theory in regards to humanity and society. "The scarecrow haunts on Halloween night."

To be continued...

 **Our finale arc, which is twelve chapters long, starts next chapter. It's the endgame, folks. Read and review.**


	67. Chapter 67: Our Class Trial

**We're now ready to get into the final arc. This will finally end the war. Throughout the Hope's Peak saga of Danganronpa, Hope and Despair have been caught in a neverending war. Well now Desire wants a say in the matter. When it comes to the Freudian Trio, Desire is clearly the ego in this, but it's unclear whether Hope is the id or superego, and likewise with Despair. It could be either or. Either way, let's get started. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 67: Trial, Sleepers, and the Final Killing Game

The heads of the Future Foundation were in meeting following the success of the Neo World Program. Kazuo Tengan was the head of the group as the first division head, which oversaw primary leadership of the other divisions. Taro Kogami was the second division head, in charge of managing the day-to-day operations as well as expansion of the group and peacekeeping. Koichi Kizakura was the third division head, working to scout potential members into the fold.

Seiko Kimura was in charge of the fourth division, responsible for research and developing medical techniques. Chisa Yukizome was the fifth division head, which was the intelligence and counter-espionage department. Kiyotaka Ishimaru lead the sixth division, responsible for police activity, riot suppression, and special investigations. Miaya Gekkogahara headed the seventh division, the administrative office and the branch in charge of reversing despair in people.

Ruruka Ando was in charge of the eight division, responsible for long-term stable food procurement. Sonosuke Izayoi headed up the ninth division, which was an R&D department for armaments and also was responsible for their distribution. Korekiyo Shinguji was head of the tenth division, which worked to restore education and culture to the world. Daisuke Bandai lead the eleventh division, responsible for restoring agriculture in disaster zones.

Miu Iruma lead the twelfth division, which assisted in restoring infrastructure, such as transportation and communication. Teruteru Hanamura was in charge of the thirteenth division, which was in charge of food distribution. Finally, Chiaki Nanami lead the fourteenth division, the Foundation's PR department. "Is it really a good idea for all of us to be meeting like this?," Ruruka asked. "I wouldn't worry," Kazuo said, "This building isn't on any maps."

"We are using a building that Kyosuke helped build," Chisa reminded them, "He designed it to be impregnable from the outside." "And if there's an emergency I installed a new communication network," Miu assured them, "Real bleeding edge tech. No one else in the Foundation knows about it, not even my own division. It gives us a direct line to the Kamen Riders." "There's also the special signal on top of the building," Sonosuke pointed out, "If something should cause the place to lockdown, it will alert the Phantoms. It's wired into the lockdown system and can't be removed."

He hugged Ruruka's shoulder. "So relax, babe. Even if something happens, I doubt we'll be in any real danger." "If we are all done assuring each other," Kazuo said, "Then I should explain our reason for gathering. Izuru Kamakura is making her next move. She's intent on launching an attack on the city where our HQ is located." "Given this is the person meant to the Ultimate Hope I'm not surprised she found us," Seiko admitted, "But most of her forces are consolidated within Foundation X, and they still have their sights set on Towa City."

"And we expunged all of the moles she sent into our group," Daisuke pointed out. "We expunged the moles," Korekiyo pointed out, "But what about sleeper agents? They'd be so embedded not even Miaya would be albe to sort them out." Sure enough, a sudden rumbling occurred around the building. Out of nowhere an unknown force attacked the building, blocking off all entrances and exits. As the group looked around, confused, they became aware of gas being pumped into the room. As they wound up inhaling it, they all fell unconscious.

* * *

Some time later, the group woke up. "Everyone count heads," Chiaki said. It seemed all fourteen of them were still there. "Hey, what's this on our wrist?," Miu asked. Each of them had a wristband with a timer on it, counting down from around two hours. Just then, a laughing could be heard through the room. "Uh oh," Kiyotaka said, "I know that laugh all too well." A monitor in the room came, revealing the gym from Hope's Peak Academy, Monokuma appearing from behind the podium.

'Greetings, members of the Future Foundation. I must say, I'm a big fan of you trying to save the world. That said, I've been a little annoyed about the losing streak we've been on. So here's what's going on. As you've already figured out, all the exits are totally blocked off.' "Another Killing Game?," Kazuo asked, "You're track record in that regard is rather abysmal, to say the least." 'Maybe, but hey third time's the charm. Of course, if you really don't wanna play, there's a way out.' That got the group's attention.

* * *

Meanwhile in Towa City, the Kamen Riders were busy dealing with a giant Monokuma attacking on the outskirts of the city. Fumiko had spotted the group and used her tablet again. "Metal Robo, activate!" A Robo covered in buzzsaws leapt at the group. Gold spotted it first and charged her Driver. _**"Amber Magic!"**_ Her defense increased, she easily blocked the oncoming attack. Kicking it aside, she swapped again. _**"Topaz Magic!"**_ "We've no time to waste on smaller machines," she said, as energy charged in her fist, "Barrage Yellow!"

Metal Robo was smashed apart by the flurry of fists, exploding once Gold was finished. "Good work, Gold," OOO said, "Let's deal with that Big Bang Monokuma next." The seventeen Riders lined up and charged at the large Monokuma, leaping into the air as one. "Break Kick!" "Trump Striker!" "Aqua Vortex!" "Ace Extreme!" "Judgement Rendered!" "Infinite Mirage!" "Den-Rider Kick!" "Rider Kick!" "Skull Banisher!" "Rainbow Shining!" "New Moon Breaker!" "Savage Pounce!" "Mighty Kick!" "Dimension Kick!" "Eagle Dive!" "Crawler Leap!" "Tatoba Kick!"

As the forces of all those Rider Kicks slammed into the giant bear, it toppled over before exploding. "Who needs a Super Sentai mech?," Battalion quipped, "When we work together, there's no enemy we can't topple! Literally." Just then, a call came in over the communicator. 'We have a situation,' Kazuo said, 'We've been trapped in Future Foundation HQ. Izuru's made her next move, and it seems we've been forced into a Killing Game. However, there's a way out besides killing. And it involves the city our HQ is in...'

To be continued...

 **Get your spine tingling yet? Now as if the issues in Towa City weren't enough, we have a second city to save. Talk about going back and forth. Fate has really been altered even from the changes fates I spoke of in the earlier chapters. Read and review.**


	68. Chapter 68: A Thin Line

**Things got tense last chapter, didn't they? Well now we have a brand new chapter to get things done. Here we'll be expanding, and learning just how the Future Foundation leaders can get out of this situation. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, Akiba's Trip, or Super Sentai.**

Chapter 68: The Thin Line, Spreading Terror, and the City of Fear

The giant monitor came on over the city as a mysterious man showed his face. 'I am Terunosuke Morimoto. I and some... Friends of mine have taken over the city in the name of despair. Rest assured we've taken great pains to cut this city off from the outside world. Blame us if you like, but our target is the large building in the center of your city. That being said, we gave allowances for ordinary citizens to flee prior to this incident. If you haven't left by now... Well that's your fault. Beyond that, this will be broadcast to the entire world. And to you Kamen Riders, if you are here, better make the most of your time. This event could end The Tragedy once and for all... Or enable it further. Let's see whether Hope can overcome Despair in this battle.'

Hajime looked on the picture faded. "We've got his ID," Kazuichi said, "Terunosuke Morimoto. He's a Hope's Peak alumni, the former Ultimate Psychologist. Interestingly, he specialized in the study of fear." "He spoke of friends helping him," Sonia noted, "Who were his classmates at the time?" "We're still looking into that," Kazuichi admitted, "But it's clear he's been brainwashed by Izuru. Oddly enough, he didn't mention that he was a former Ultimate." "This is a distraction," Hajime realized, "Izuru making it so this incident won't necessarily work. Kazuo, what else can you tell us?"

* * *

"We're about to find out now," Kazuo said, "It looks like our captor is telling us the rules." He had been using the system Miu mentioned earlier, which Monokuma didn't seem to notice. 'Now here's the rules of this game. One, after the timer on your wristband runs out, you'll be injected with a powerful sleeping drug. All the timers are synchronized, meaning you'll all be knocked out at once. Rule two, there is one exception to rule one, and that is the attacker. He or she will be wide awake and free to kill whoever they want. They can only kill one person per cycle. If you suspect someone to be the attacker, then you can just gang up and them and kill them. You'll know you got it right if you wake up and no one's dead.'

"So it's a game of Mafia," Chiaki realized, "But for all we know this could be a variant where no one is the traitor. After all, we woke up for the first cycle without anyone dying." 'Rule three, the forbidden actions. Take a good look at those bangles, trust me on this. Each of you has a special action you are forbidden from doing. If you perform this action at any time, you'll be injected with a lethal poison. Oh, and don't try ripping them off. They're set to go off if anyone tampers with them.'

"So he's setting each of us with a handicap," Korekiyo noted, "We'll have to go over these actions later." 'Rule four, the city of fear. On the outside, some friends of mine have taken over the city, and it's up to the brave Kamen Riders to save the day! Besides the Big Bag, there are fourteen dangerous individuals. For each one the Riders send to the hoosegow, one of your bangles will unlock, freeing you from your forbidden action. It also means the attacker can't target you, because let's face it. It'd be way to easy to avoid them. In fact, you could probably take advantage of this and attack them right back. Just be not to kill them until everyone else wakes up, or else you might get mistaken for the attacker!'

And with that, the monitor shut off. "Now what?," Chisa asked. "Let's start by reviewing all our forbidden actions," Kazuo decided, "That way Hajime and the others will know what to shoot for." He started with his own bangle. "So I am forbidden from lying during the game." Taro did his next, making sure everyone could see it. "I'm not allowed to run while in the hallways." Koichi was unable to open his left hand. Seiko couldn't let anyone step in her shadow. Chisa couldn't let any Kamen Riders die. Kiyotaka couldn't open any doors.

Miaya couldn't make a left turn. Ruruka couldn't let anyone leave the facility. Sonosuke couldn't put food in his mouth. Korekiyo couldn't touch his mask. Daisuke couldn't witness violence. Miu was cut off from her talent. Teruteru couldn't touch walls. And Chiaki was forbidden from touching her game console. "These seem to designed to sow paranoia and limit our communication and movement," Chiaki noted, "Basically they're trying to ensure we go for each other's throats."

Korekiyo asked Kiyotaka to remove his mask. "There, that solves my problem. I'm sure our forbidden actions can be overcome by not giving into the paranoia and thinking outside the box. Plus, our Kamen Rider friends are out there to help remove these limitations one by one." "There are a few things that stand out to me," Kiyotaka said, "Monokuma said we were cut off from all communication, right as Kazuo was using the new emergency line to connect with Hajime."

"And he assumed there would already be a death," Chisa noted, "But all fourteen of us are still alive." "Exactly," Kiyotaka said with a nod, "That leads me to believe this game is fully automated, and the message we heard was prerecorded. We might be able to end the game early if we work together and find the source of the game." "There's one other thing bugging me," Miu said, "Who was expected to be killed by now?" "It has to be Chisa," Kazuo suggested, "Her forbidden action is that a Kamen Rider cannot die, yet that is not something we have control over. In other words, it's likely redundant."

"Or a Kamen Rider was expected to be dead before we woke up," Sonosuke suggested, "Either way, it flopped, and we gained a valuable clue in the process." "Do we have any information on members who have gone missing recently?," Miu asked. "One second," Miaya said as she worked her computer. After a bit, she had something, "It seems several members have joined Terunosuke, all of them alumni."

She began listing them off. "Masaharu Kujo, the Ultimate Firefighter. Saito Hanzo, the Ultimate Surgeon. Riku Nijimura, the Ultimate Engineer. Yui Suzuki, the Ultimate Watchman. Touma Mao, the Ultimate Stunt Driver. Himari Higashikata, the Ultimate Policewoman. Sora Uzumaki, the Ultimate Demolition Expert. Itsuki Amamiya, the Ultimate Geneticist. Ren Yamagishi, the Ultimate Fire Dancer. Hitoshi Hatake, the Ultimate Vigilante. Morishige Yagami, the Ultimate Salesman. Tadashi Kurosaki, the Ultimate Banker. Eiichi Abarai, the Ultimate Businessman. And finally, Naozumi Sakata, the Ultimate Priest."

* * *

"Okay, got all that," Hajime said, "We'll get started looking." The group readied their Drivers. "Henshin!" _**"Drill Form! Break!" "Arcana Set!" "Water State!" "Cyclone! Ace!" "Fist On!" "Infinite! Mirror!" "Sword Form!" "Joker!" "Skull!" "All Magic!" "Chu!" "Liger Mode!" "Mighty Form!" "Kamen Ride! Decade!" "Style: Avian!" "Gashapon Active!" "Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba! Tatoba, Ta-To-Ba!"**_ The group leapt down to a series of Ridevendors and started scouring the city.

It wasn't long before they reached a small bunker, an large police building that looked set up to hold several prisoners. Inside were the Phantoms, Akira bringing a young woman into an interrogation room. "Who's that?," Joker asked. "She was being held captive by agents working for Terunosuke," Akira explained, "We're doing our own investigation to find out where he is. The sooner he's out of the picture, the better." "We have fourteen targets," OOO noted, "That can leave three available if any new developments occur in Towa City."

Den-O walked into the interrogation room, where the woman was in the small bathroom applying hair dye. "Good to see you're alright, babe." The woman smiled. "You know this girl?," Birth asked. "Oh that's right," the woman said, turning to them, "You've never seen me au naturale. One second..." The dye quickly turned her auburn hair a vibrant and familiar shade of pink. She then turned back to the mirror and applied a pair of colored contacts, which made her natural auburn eyes appear light blue.

She then looked at the group again, causing Birth, Ixa, W, Tarot, and Aqua to gasp. "I see," Joker said, "I thought your face looked familiar, but the alternate hair color was throwing me off. Seems you've managed to survive in spite of everything, Junko." It was indeed Junko Enoshima, who finished doing up her hair in her traditional style, applying a different set of hair clips from the ones she used while under AI Izuru's control. "I was busy working with Future Foundation," she explained, "Since most of them knew my face, I thought I'd disguise myself. And a few minor changes to ones appearance can easily alter perception."

"Ah, I'd nearly forgotten," Ixa realized, "Your talent as the Ultimate Fashionista is merely a formality. Your real talent is the Ultimate Analyst. Seems it wasn't just Miaya's work that allowed Future Foundation to remove all of Izuru's moles." "But even my work couldn't prevent this," Junko said, "As I talked with each member, I realized there was a high probability that certain members were really sleeper agents, unaware they were part of despair until needed. Beyond that... I could sense the despair within them. That's not even part of my talent, it's just something I'm able to do."

"That must be another reason you were targeted by the AI," Birth realized. "I won't deny I have felt a twinge of boredom because of my ability," Junko admitted, "But my skills work better with more knowledge. You can't analyze what you don't know, after all. That's why in spite of my disguise, Terunosuke's group still tried hunting me. But luckily they're not looking for Junko Enoshima. See, I anticipated that I might need to fabricate an identity for any number of reasons, so I gave a false name of Ryoko Otonashi."

"Did you find out anything important?," Den-O asked. "I managed to get a sample of chemicals Terunosuke was working with," Junko said, "It'll take some time to get them tested, but my initial analysis suggests it's some sort of compound to instill fear in anyone when it enters their bloodstream." "We'll work on finding him soon enough," OOO said, "In the meantime we have other issues. Defeating Terunosuke's allies will end the game that's going on. Even one division head freed opens their options wide, so let's get started."

"Masaharu's crew went missing shortly after the chaos started," Birth said, "With so many thugs still around, I'm concerned for their safety." "Leave them to me," Tarot said, "With my third eye, I'll track them down easy, and then go for Masaharu." Birth nodded. "Next, there's an unidentified body found at the following coordinates. Initial investigation suggests it's Saito's work." "I'll take that job," Joker said, "Homicide investigations are my specialty. With this we might be able to track Saito down."

"And finally," Birth said, "We have reports of Riku going in and out of several underground locations. With his engineering who knows what he's planning." "Let me find out," Battalion offered, "I'll take that guy on mechanic to engineer." "Looks like we all have our assignments," OOO said, "Me, Birth, and Sonic will stand by in case there's any developments from either Terunosuke or Towa City." Joker, Battalion, and Tarot went out to check on their targets.

* * *

Battalion soon found himself out near the trainyard, near a shutter with question marks on it. Curious, he drove his Ridevendor into it, and found an elevator that quickly took him down. A projector soon showed Riku's face. 'A little early for the festivities, aren't we? I anticipated you'd want to come after me, one mechanical genius to another. You know, Kazuichi, the only reason you're not the Ultimate Engineer is because I was still attending Hope's Peak when you got accepted. So our mechanical know-how is just about even.'

"And your point?," Battalion asked. 'The difference is how we apply it. You go for the practical, I go for the artistic. I have a series of clever challenges set up for tonight's game. Solve them all and capture me, and guess what? You unlock the bangle of Miu Iruma, Ultimate Inventor and head of Future Foundation's twelfth division! We might as well get started with your first challenge, so I'll explain when the ride ends.' That's when the elevator stopped, opening into a large sewer.

Riku showed up again on a large projection on a nearby wall. 'This section of the sewers was designed by me to emulate an expert racecourse on a third dimension. But racing is only half the challenge. With the advanced Ridevendor it would be all too easy to complete three circuits in the allotted time. I've also set up a series of mechanisms that are designed to switch when a precise radar pulse is applied. One moment while I upload the encrypted code to your suit.'

Battalion saw the system in his visor receive the code in question. 'Don't worry, even if I intended to include a virus in this I doubt it would make it past your firewalls. I'll need you at top gear to have a chance at this. Go ahead and test the code right now, and we'll start the first course.' Battalion found just focusing on his helmet was enough to trigger the pulse, activating the system.

'Of course, running the course won't be so easy,' Riku pointed out, 'The course will automatically alter itself with each circuit completed, becoming more and more difficult each time.' _'Looks like I can't afford to go slow,'_ Battalion thought, and he got out a Tora Candroid. He pulled the tab and launched the Candroid, letting it grow and merge with the Ridevendor to create the Toride Vendor. Growling like a beast, the Toride Vendor helped Battalion easily breeze through the course, Battalion keeping a close eye on the colors of the mechanisms.

As he reached the end and headed up the elevator, Riku showed up again. 'This challenge was completed earlier than expected, but it will give you an advantage when I'm finally ready to challenge you for real. I'll contact you then, but until then, impressive work. I look forward to pitting my machines against yours.' "What else could he have in store?," Battalion thought out loud, "I'll head back to the bunker and wait for further developments."

* * *

Meanwhile Tarot had found one of the firefighters working with Masaharu. After dealing with the thugs that were harassing him, Tarot helped the man up. "Thanks," he said, "I have no idea what happened. Chief Kujo got a sudden call and flipped out when he heard the person on the other line. Then he bragged about holding Second Division Head Taro Kogami's life in his hands." "So capturing Masaharu will release Taro's bangle," Tarot realized, "Thanks for the info. But right now we need to get back to the bunker we have set up."

* * *

Elsewhere, Joker discovered one of the bodies left by Saito. A quick analysis of the blood showed cause of death was an overdose of painkillers. "Saito went to great lengths to try and make this person unidentifiable. Even going so far as to remove the fingerprints with acid, and corrupting the DNA somehow. But I should still be able to identify the body based on a few physical markers." Using the special scanner in her helmet, Joker began a deep tissue scan of the corpse.

"Hmm... Deformity of the left ear, likely caused by a birth defect. A wedding ring that somehow got in the lower intestine. The name reads 'Manami', that'll help with the cross-referencing. And finally what looks like a hip replacement. Rather recent judging from the lack of healed scar tissue." After a bit, the database came up with a hit. "Toriko Tatsumi... He's a member of the fourth division. And considering Saito was the Ultimate Surgeon, it looks like capturing him will release Seiko. I'll have to keep an eye out for more of his handiwork."

* * *

While all this was going on, Junko managed to identify the compound Terunosuke was using and traced its source to a large chemical plant in the city. The Phantoms easily infiltrated the plant, and saw Terunosuke was making use of Foundation X's drone program to amass an army to keep control of the city. "He's trying to make it harder for the Kamen Riders to move around," Joker noted, "Oracle, do you have anything on the site personnel?"

"Yep," Oracle replied, "Five workers confirmed to still be around. One second while I track them with Prometheus." Oracle soon had the five workers, and the Phantoms worked to rescue the first one. It turned out they were too late, he was already dead, but they were able to get the gates to the chemical plant open, letting Birth come in with a new battle tank developed by the Kogami Foundation. The mighty Sasori CLAW Tank easily ripped through the drones sent against it using its various weapons.

'Good job,' Birth said over the comm, 'Now we need a way into the underground, as well as finding those other workers.' "Sit tight," Joker replied, "We'll get the crane controls." As the two groups worked together to find the other workers, most of whom were dead, they overheard Terunosuke on the hacked comms. 'We already have our checkpoints and drone units set up throughout the city. No word on how the game is going, so far no indication of any corpses. This can't last, we'll get them before they can be saved. Just hold off the Riders as long as possible. And can someone tell me why at least Chisa hasn't kicked it by now!?'

Finally, the group managed to find a living worker. However, that was the only good news. "Morimoto's gone crazy," the worker explained, "He's developing gallons of a specialized gas compound designed to bring all of Japan to terror. It'll be despair of epic levels unless the bomb can somehow be shut down." "Birth it looks like you'll need to take over," Joker said, "Our masks only cover our eyes, so we're vulnerable if there's any of the toxin already floating in the air near the bomb."

"Okay," Birth said, "Get the worker to safety and I'll handle the rest." As luck would have, two workers managed to survive thanks to the Phantoms efforts, meaning the group now had knowledge of where the bomb was. Using the Sasori's functions, Birth quickly made his way down into the plant's underbelly to the central mixing chamber. _'Let's see what you've got in store, Terunosuke. Rest assured I won't let your plan come to fruition.'_

* * *

Getting into the central mixing chamber was tricky, but in the end Birth was able to stop the flow of chemicals and disable the bomb with a neutralizing agent. This reduced the blast radius of the bomb to just the chamber itself, allowing Birth to escape. Normally the toxin was of such potency that even normal respirators were useless. But Miu had developed a new filtration system that actively destroyed any molecule that wasn't necessary for human survival.

Unfortunately it was useless against an imminent explosion, meaning Birth had to get out of there quick. No sooner did he manage to get the Sasori out of the plant then it imploded, removing any chance of the toxin spreading. 'A minor setback,' came Terunosuke's voice from across the city announcements, 'I still have a supply of the toxin hidden somewhere in the city. And while you've prevented me from affecting all of Japan, the city itself is still at risk.'

* * *

Birth returned to the bunker. "What's the news? I've been getting radio chatter regarding Foundation X squads in the city." "Gold has already started to take the fight to them," OOO replied, "Sora deployed a platoon of special explosives to hold the city hostage, each capable of leveling everything with ten kilometers of ground zero. Luckily Gold's already disabled the first one. Sora seems to be linked to Sonosuke's bangle, as well. We're already analyzing the military threat in the city."

* * *

Elsewhere, Battalion was making ready to access the bridges between the islands, when he heard an announcement from Riku. Heading the orphanage on the island, he was surprised to find Hiyoko inside. "About time you showed up," she said, "Seems Riku wanted to give you some incentive to try his challenges." 'And that's all,' came Riku's voice, 'A little something to flex those muscles. A healthy mind in a healthy body, after all.' Several humanoid bots appeared and began to attack.

Hiyoko proved to be far from helpless, able to fight alongside Battalion. Soon enough, the group of bots was scrap. 'That's what I get for focusing on pure combat, but I'll improve them over time. Until then, I should direct your attention to your girlfriend's new collar. It's equipped with a powerful bomb. If she leaves the orphanage before it's removed... Well I'll leave that to your imagination. There are keys to remove it of course, which you'll earn over the course of our game. That said, you solved one challenge early, so the first key you earn will count for double. I'll you the coordinates for the first challenge. Better not keep the lady waiting.'

* * *

Sonic returned to Towa City due to reports of a large crab machine rampaging across the outskirts. Landing on top of it, she started fighting off the mechs that were already there. Fumiko spotted Sonic from the monitor and retrieved her tablet. "Crab Robo, activate!" Sonic saw the crustacean-like Robo appear from a secret panel. "I wonder if they designed this thing after Armored Rider Dark." She got out the Cube cartridge. "Well I have the perfect crab cracker!" _**"Cube Form! Knockback!"**_

The heavy hammer that came with the form proved effective against the Robo's hard shell-like chassis, smashing it easily as Sonic readied her finisher. _**"Link Ready!"**_ Sonic slammed the hammer onto the top of the machine. "Slam Foundation!" The Crab Robo found itself getting launched into the air via energized cubes, the charge causing it to explode. "Now for the machine itself," Sonic said, hitting a limiter switch. This allowed her to install all seven cartridges at once.

"That's not good," Fumiko said when she saw this, getting to an escape pod. _**"Fight for Hope! Final Form!"**_ Blazing in a rainbow light, Sonic leapt into the air before screaming down in a massive Rider Kick. "Overdrive!" She smashed clear through the crab machine, coming out from the bottom. The machine exploded above her as she landed. "That should force Foundation X back. I'd better return to the bunker."

To be continued...

 **I was able to write a longer chapter here. I love getting inspiration. Hope you guys like the concept I chose for this final confrontation. Let's watch and see how things go for our group. Read and review.**


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